Somalia's new cabinet sworn in ahead of December election

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's first cabinet since the ouster of PM Hassan Ali Khaire last July was sworn in Saturday as the East African country is heading towards elections in December 2020.

The 27-member cabinet led by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, which includes four women, took oath at the presidential palace in Mogadishu shorting after winning unanimous endorsement.

Roble's cabinet, which has more than 50% of former ministers reinstated to office, is expected to lead Somalia through formidable challenges that also include defeating Al-Shabab and holding peaceful polls.

"The road ahead is not easy. We will face many challenges but we have to work on them," said PM Roble during his address to the parliament. He thanked the MPs for overwhelmingly passing the cabinet.

The country’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo appointed Roble, a political novice as PM shortly after inking a deal with Somali Federal States’ leaders over the elections, a move that ended the longest rift.

Under the landmark agreement, the sides agreed a jointly appoint electoral and dispute resolution bodies and hold an indirect election of the MPs of the next parliament in two constituencies in each Federal State.

This came after the outgoing government failed to deliver on promises of holding one person, one vote elections in Somalia at the end of its 4-year mandate, and secure the country by rooting out Al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabab has a potent threat to national security as the Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group is waging high-profile attacks in the country with an attempt to topple the UN-backed Somali government protected by 22,000 AU soldiers.

GAROWE ONLINE