Galmudug speaker and VP dismiss coalition with Alhusuna

Galmudug president Ahmed Haaf is currently restructuring the executive to include Alhusuna

Efforts to form a unified administration between Galmudug state and the moderate Islamist group Alhusuna wal Jamaa could be headed for a rocky start following pronouncements Saturday by the state deputy president and parliament speaker dismissing the unification.

Speaking in Adado Saturday, state parliament speaker Ali Asir rubbished the inclusion of Alhusuna into the administration of the state noting the current parliament and executive are the only legitimate structures of the state.

“Galmudug Parliament that got its legitimacy from 800 delegates who met here and took more than one year is the original and legitimate Parliament and we will work with that,”Asir said.

Asir who has in the past been at loggerheads with state president Ahmed Haaf said parliament would operate from Adado as agreed in the talks which culminated into the hoisting of the state flag in Dhusamareeb in January but warned he would not recognise any other arrangement.

“We won’t recognise any other parliament or government.”

Deputy president Mohamed Araby who was with Asir in Adado also reiterated parliament will operate in Adado until its term comes to an end.

The remarks from Asir come as Haaf is working on a cabinet restructuring to include Alhusuna members in accordance with the agreement reached to late last year. The talks concluded mid January with the hoisting of the state flag in constitutionally mandated capital Dhusamareeb almost three years after the state was formed.

Alhusuna which pulled out of the state formation talks in 2014 had hitherto been occupying Dhusamareeb forcing the new administration to operate from Adado.

Under the agreement, the two factions would share power which included the expansion of the state parliament and executive.