Somalia: Farmaajo accuses PM of incompetence in handling the election
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Staff reporter GAROWE ONLINE
- Posted On 26-12-2021, 07:31AM
MOGADISHU, Somalia - For the second time this year, the political rift between the outgoing Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and PM Mohamed Hussein Roble has resurfaced amid an election crisis in the Horn of Africa country.
In a statement released by the presidency, Farmajo has accused the prime minister of incompetence in handling the electoral process and sowing divisions among the election teams tasked with overseeing the vote.
“Prime Minister Roble has failed to fulfill his mandate to lead an election based on September 17, 2020, Agreement and the finalizing procedures issued on October 1, 2020,” reads the statement in part.
The PM who took over the responsibility for the election in May this year from Farmaajo was blamed for taking personal decisions regarding the implementation of the election which impeded a smooth electoral process.
“After it became clear that the Prime Minister has deviated from the rules of the electoral process and divided the election commissions and violated their independence, I call for a meeting to decide on a competent leadership to lead the country to a transparency election” added the statement.
The statement comes ahead of the planned National Consultative Council meeting called by the PM to convene in Mogadishu on December 27 to discuss the acceleration of the election and fixing fraud claims.
In addition, Farmaajo invited the leaders of the five Federal States and the governor of Benadir regional administration to a conference to agree on a leadership capable of implementing free and fair elections.
This means that Farmaajo is plotting to oust the prime minister who has been in office since 2020, replacing Hassan Ali Khaire after the Lower House removed him from his post in a vote of no confidence.
In September this year, Farmaajo has suspended Roble’s power to hire and fire officials, the latest development in a destabilizing feud that has plunged the country into a fresh crisis.
Farmaajo’s four-year mandate expired in February but was extended by parliament in April, triggering deadly gun battles in the capital Mogadishu, with some rivals viewing it as a flagrant power grab.
Somalia missed deadlines to hold its parliamentary and presidential elections three times this year due to the frequent political rifts between the top leaders who have long been in deadlock over the process.
Elections in the country follow a complex indirect model, whereby state legislatures and clan delegates pick lawmakers for the national parliament [Senate 45 and Lower House 275] who, in turn, choose the president.
GAROWE ONLINE
