Somalia: Puntland's outgoing president under pressure to drop plot for term extension

FILE: Puntland president Said Abdullahi Deni has been serving in office since Jan. 2019

GAROWE, Somalia - The outgoing Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni is increasingly getting under pressure to drop alleged plans to extend his term with critics insisting such a move will derail the progress that Somalia's oldest federal state has made since its establishment in 1998.

During Friday prayers in Villa Somalia, sources say, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud criticized Deni, while questioning his "controversial" approach to local council elections. Deni has been conducting controversial voter registration without consensus with the opposition.

Hassan Sheikh, sources added, "warned of the looming political crisis if Deni goes on in his approach". The criticism comes days after the President said there was no conflict between his Government and Puntland.

The current Puntland administration led by Deni suspended cooperation with the federal government of Somalia over contentious issues, mainly related to personal interests, according to insiders, who spoke to Garowe Online.

The president of Somalia said he will dispatch three Federal Member State leaders to Garowe to "iron out emerging issues " with Puntland after Deni boycotted the most recent National Consultative Council [NCC] meeting held in Baidoa city in March 2023.

Former Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas also questioned moves to extend the term by amending the constitution, noting that the time has come for parliament to show patriotism by rejecting Deni's personal ambitions.

Gaas, who served as Somali PM during the transitional government led by Sheikh Sharif joined former Puntland president and current Somali senator Abdirahman Farole in the warning of the illegal term extension plotted by Deni, whose mandate will end in January 2024.

"The Puntland parliament must reject the personal ambitions of the Puntland president," said Gaas, who called for sobriety and stability of the state which is known to be the most stable of all the six states of the country.

"Puntland Parliament's final sitting in June must be committed to safeguarding the constitution," added Economist and Security expert Mohamed Farole, who has previously termed plans to extend term as "illegal and unacceptable".

Speaking to BBC Somali Service on Friday's debate, Mohamed Abdirahman, a prominent Puntland Politician termed "unconsitutional" the controversial attempt by Deni to amend the constitution just eight months before the term's end.

"Puntland Parliament's final sitting in June must be committed to safeguarding the constitution," he added.

Deni undertones for possible stay have been renting the air in recent weeks. Politicians from the Federal state have ganged up against him with the opposition withdrawing from impending local elections in which Deni is keen to add more political formations contrary to the law.

GAROWE ONLINE