NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 18- The escalating bad blood between Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi alias Farmaajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble has caught the attention of the international community, with fears it could undermine the country’s stability and derail the electoral process.
The two have been asked to resolve their differences immediately and “avoid further unhelpful exchanges of public statements and personnel announcements, refrain from any action that could destabilize the security situation and re-focus on concluding the overdue elections without further delay.”
In a joint statement, the Somali’s closest partners among them the African Union Mission in Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, France, United Kingdom, United States, and the United Nations said: “The Somali people need and deserve effective and inclusive governance. The ongoing division and politicisation risks undermining the important progress that has been made.”
The fresh crisis escalated after President Farmaajo suspended the executive powers of the Prime Minister on Thursday.
The President argued that he had seen “the Prime Minister undertaking unprecedented steps that could drive the nation to political and security crisis.”
Mohamed ‘Farmaajo’ Abdullahi Mohamed. Somalia president. Photo/Courtesy
“Since the Prime Minister of the FGS has violated the Provisional Constitution, the powers of the Prime Minister and all correspondence related to dismissals or appointments have been frozen until the completion of the country’s elections by the named Independent Commissions.”
During the period when the Prime Minister’s powers are frozen, the President directed that the various government organs “shall continue providing required services to the citizens for the fulfillment of government functions as per Article 102 of the Provisional Constitution which stipulates that each Minister is responsible for the activities of their ministry and shall be considered, without subjection to dismissal or appointment until the completion of the national elections.”
In a quick rejoinder, Prime Minister Roble said he would not abide by the president’s order and accused him of twisting the constitutional provisions.
“The prime minister reminds the president to preserve the principles of the constitution of the separation of powers of the government’s institutions,” he said in a statement issued by his office.
Last week, the Prime Minister sacked Somalia’s intelligence chief for his handling of a high-profile probe into the disappearance of a young agent. He was later by the President as his national security adviser.
Ikran Tahlil, a 25-year-old officer with the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), was abducted near her home in the capital, Mogadishu, in June.
NISA later said she had been kidnapped and killed by the al-Shabab armed group. The terror group issued a statement denying the claims.
Tahlil’s family accused NISA of killing their daughter.
The Prime Minister has accused the President of obstructing the ongoing investigations.
He even fired the security minister and replaced him with a critic of the Somali President.
-Delayed Presidential Election-
The current President’s term has since lapsed in February. And though it had been extended by the parliament for two years in April, massive international pressure so the decision overturned and a fresh election date set.
The long-delayed presidential election will be conducted on October 10, 2021.
Somalia has not held a direct one-person, one-vote election since 1969, the year dictator Siad Barre led a coup and went on to rule for two decades.
Barre’s military regime collapsed in 1991 and Somalia fell into anarchy, and repeat efforts to organize such a ballot since have been scuttled by security problems or lack of political will.
The upcoming election, like others past, follows a complex indirect model.
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