Somali President Mohamed has suspended Prime Minister Roble pending the outcome of a corruption investigation into the Prime Minister.
Yesterday, the two politicians from the East African country accused each other of obstructing the ongoing parliamentary elections. They started on November 1 and had to be completed on December 24. A newly elected MP told Reuters news agency last weekend that only 24 of the total 275 MPs have been elected.
“The Prime Minister poses a serious threat to the electoral process and is exceeding his mandate,” President Mohamed said in a statement yesterday. Roble released a statement of his own a short time later saying that the president had “put a lot of time, energy and money into frustrating the national elections” and “derailed the electoral process.”
Both politicians want to hold their own meeting today to see how the process can be speeded up.
Indirect elections
The electoral process in Somalia takes a long time because politicians are elected indirectly. Regional councils first elect a senate. It is then up to clan elders to put forward members for the lower house. Those parliamentarians then elect a new president. The latter will take place on a date yet to be chosen. International observers say the lengthy process could distract the government from fighting the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.
In April, security forces from the Prime Minister and the President faced each other. They took parts of the capital Mogadishu after Roble and the opposition voted against a proposal to extend the president’s term for another two years.
Clashes between the two groups led to between 60,000 and 100,000 residents fleeing the city. The confrontation came to an end when the president put the prime minister in charge of organizing the postponed elections, which should have taken place as early as December last year.
No more central authority
It is the first direct elections after more than 30 years of instability in the country. Somalia no longer has a de facto central authority since 1991. The country is trying to rebuild itself with the help of the United Nations.
The US yesterday called for a swift conclusion to the election process. “The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing delays and procedural irregularities that have undermined the credibility of the process,” the US State Department said.
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