Somali president suspends premier, alleges corruption
Somalia’s president suspended the country’s prime minister and marine forces commander Monday, a sharp escalation in a political dispute that threatens to further destabilize the troubled nation on the Horn of Africa.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed suspended Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble over allegations of corruption and misuse of public land. Mohamed’s office had earlier accused Roble of “posing a serious threat to the electoral process” and carrying out activities that were in violation of his mandate.
Roble refused to accept the order and accused Mohamed of deploying troops to attack his office and those of the Cabinet to prevent them from carrying out their duties. The moves, he said in a televised address, were “a blatant attempt to overthrow the government, the constitution and the laws of the land.”
On Monday, foreign governments and international observers expressed concern that the dispute could set off yet another cycle of violence in a nation battered by decades of fighting.
The simmering political impasse blew into open violence in the streets in April, after Mohamed signed a law extending his term in office by two years. Opponents of Mohamed, a former U.S. citizen and bureaucrat, along with his Western allies denounced the move, with many Somalis worrying that it could reverse the modest democratic gains the country has achieved after decades of civil war.
The showdown eventually led Mohamed to ask Parliament to nullify the extension and request that Roble help organize the delayed elections.
Calling Mohamed “the former president,” the premier Monday instructed armed forces to report directly to his office and promised to take action against anyone who defied those orders. He also said Mohamed, whose mandate technically lapsed in February, intended to disrupt the elections so “he can illegally remain in office.”
Somalia is driven by clan politics, and analysts say the rift between the president and the prime minister — who are from different clans — threatens to blow up into full-on violence not just among their supporters but also among their clansmen in the Somali military. On Monday evening, armed forces loyal to the opposition amassed in certain neighborhoods in the capital, Mogadishu, witnesses said, while Somali military forces fortified the roads leading to the presidential palace.
The process of organizing the elections has not been smooth, with legislative elections facing delays, irregularities and multiple corruption allegations from candidates and observers. So far, only 26 of the 275 lawmakers for the lower house of Parliament have been elected, with 53 of the 54 seats in the upper house filled.
Somalia’s electoral process is decidedly complex, with traditional elders choosing special delegates who select lawmakers, who then choose the country’s president.
Mohamed has said he wants to move to a more traditional one-person, one-vote process, but his critics say he is driven by a desire to hold onto power.
While the Somali Constitution gives the president the power to appoint a premier, the power to dismiss or give a vote of no confidence in the prime minister and his Cabinet lies with Parliament.
Abdirahman Yusuf Omar, a deputy minister of information loyal to the prime minister, called the president’s decision an “indirect coup.”
Writing on Facebook, Omar said the deployment of security forces around the prime minister’s office would not prevent Roble from carrying out his duties.