Somalia PM Hussein Roble rejects suspension by President Farmaajo
Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo (left) and Prime Minister Hussein Roble.
What you need to know:
- The suspension marked a new height in the differences between two of Somalia’s highest ranking leaders, which opposition leaders now fear could derail the electoral calendar.
Somalia's Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble has rejected suspension of his powers to discharge electoral and security functions of the country.
He termed the move by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo as unconstitutional, insisting that the Head of State has no powers to suspend the PM's duties.
In a statement issued Thursday, just hours after his suspension, PM Roble claimed that President Farmaajo has misinterpreted the constitution.
“The letter issued by the President titled ‘suspension of the powers of the Prime Minister promoting elections’ clearly violates the Provisional Constitution,” said Mr Roble’s statement, adding that the constitution does not mention interference of the President in his powers.
Earlier on Thursday, President Farmaajo suspended Mr Roble citing breaching the constitutional stipulations and agreed mandates of his job.
“The Prime Minister diverted from the powers bestowed upon him, based on the speech of President Farmaajo and the endorsement by the Lower House of the parliament,” the president’s statement stressed.
The President then instructed Somalia's electoral teams to conduct poll processes with support of the Federal Member States (FMS).
Leaders at loggerheads
The public fallout between Somalia's President and PM hit a crescendo when the latter waded into the case of the mysterious disappearance and murder of a female spy in mid August, after PM Roble decided to suspend the National Intelligence and Security Agency (Nisa) boss, Mr Fahad Yasin, in early September.
President Farmaajo overruled the suspension and reinstated him within hours. Eventually, Mr Yasin resigned from Nisa and President Farmaajo appointed him as his security advisor.
But even before that, it was clear that the rift between the duo was widening, as seen when they issued opposing statements involving suspensions, dismissals and appointments of officials, as well as directives on public finances.
While President Farmaajo has accused Mr Roble of making unilateral decisions without consulting him, the Premier has argued that the President was using his office and some security agencies to engage in actions that jeopardise Somalia's electoral process.
Following the opposing statements from President Farmaajo's and PM Roble’s offices on Thursday, the presidents of the federal member states from Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, South West and Jubbaland held a teleconference to discuss the new development.
Presidents Said Abdullahi Deni (Puntland), Ahmed Abdi Qoorqoor (Galmudug), Ali Hussein Gudlawe (Hirshabelle), Abdiaziz Hassan Laftagaren (South West) and Ahmed Islam Madobe (Jubbaland) have called on them to resolve their differences through dialogue.
They also urged all sides to respect and employ the electoral agreements reached on 17 September (2020) and 27 May and 22 August (2021) that outlined the implementation of the (indirect) electoral system and processes.
“We urge the Somali people to unite to ensure that peaceful elections are held in the country,” the five federal presidents said after their teleconference. They say they will meet in Garowe town, the capital of Puntland State, on September 21-23 to consult on the acceleration of the elections and assess the overall situation in Somalia.
