frnlen

Election in Somalia: Crisis deepens as President withdraws PM’s power

Election in Somalia: Crisis deepens as President withdraws PM’s power

Election in Somalia: Crisis deepens as President withdraws PM’s power

/ POLITIQUE / Monday, 20 September 2021 08:39

source photo: quick info news

 

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble says he rejects President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “unlawful” move to suspend his executive powers.

By Kabakura Jean Bosco Ceusi

Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has suspended Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble’s power to hire and fire officials.

This is the latest development in a destabilizing feud that has plunged the country into fresh crisis.

The dispute between the two leaders marks an escalation of continuous tension, threatening to throw into deeper peril an already fragile electoral process .

The office of the President, popularly known as Farmaajo, declared  that “the Prime Minister has violated the transitional constitution so his executive powers are withdrawn … especially his powers to remove and to appoint officials, until the election is completed,” .

Farmaajo added that the suspension will last until the conclusion of the election process later this year. The statement further said that Roble  failed to consult or collaborate with Farmaajo and made decisions that were “not in line with the laws and constitution of the country”.

The Prime Minister, on the other hand, stated that he would not abide by the President’s order and accused him of twisting the constitutional provisions he cited to justify his interference with the powers of the Prime Minister’s office.

“The Prime Minister office issued a statement which recalls the President to preserve the principles of the constitution which separate the  powers of the government’s institutions”.

Farmaajo’s four-year mandate expired in February. However, the mandate  was extended by the Parliament in April, triggering deadly gun battles in the capital Mogadishu, with some rivals viewing it as a flagrant power grab.

Roble cobbled up  a new timetable for polls, but the process fell behind. Last week, he accused Farmaajo of trying to reclaim “election and security responsibilities” from him.

Elections in Somalia follow a complex indirect model, whereby state legislatures and clan delegates pick lawmakers for the national Parliament, who then choose the President.

The elections' next phase is scheduled  between October 1 and November 25. 

The situation is very tense since last week as Roble sacked  Somalia’s Intelligence Chief for his handling of a high-profile investigation into the disappearance of a young agent, Ikran Tahlil, a 25-year-old officer with the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). She was abducted near her home in the capital Mogadishu, in June, and her employers concluded that she had been kidnapped and killed by the al-Shabab armed group.

 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.