NEW STORM: PM Roble kicks out Farmaajo allies in FEIT as South West ‘cuts ties’

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: A new controversy has rocked Somalia’s electoral process amid fears it could deal a blow to the torturous long-running exercise which is heading towards a crucial stage that culminates into the election of a new president tentatively in May.

Prime Minister Mohamed Roble kicked out two commissioners allied to outgoing President Mohamed Farmaajo from the federal elections body sparking sharp reactions from Farmaajo’s allies in the regions.

Mohamed Hassan Mohamed Irro who previously served as the Federal Indirect Elections Team (FEIT) chairman but was stripped of his position has now been hounded out the electoral body alongside Secretary-General Ibrahim Adam. The latter protested the locking out of four MPs from the final list by FEIT chairman Muse Yusuf on March 31.

The PM also issued ‘final warnings’ to five other commissioners in a major purge seen as PM Roble’s major push in locking out ‘opponents’ and Farmaajo allies from the remaining part of the electoral process. According to the FEIT calendar, the new lawmakers are expected to be sworn in on April 14 in preparation for the election of a new president which most likely will happen in May.

Following the PM’s move, South West announced it was suspending cooperation with the PM. Galmudug urged adherence to agreements reached by the National Consultative Council while the other regional governments have not reacted yet.

Amid the controversy, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) jumped into the fray announcing that it had briefed Roble and Farmaajo of a ‘threat’ to their lives by Al-Shabaab. The agency claimed that a senior Al-Shabaab member whom it named Mohamed Mahir was coordinating the plan.

However, some opposition figures have dismissed the NISA statement as a planned cover-up. Former Galmudug Security Minister Moalim Fiqi who previously headed NISA said the statement was a strategy to blame Al-Shabaab for an attack to disrupt the elections.

“It is a document that proves that there are attacks to be carried out in the next few hours and days, and that terrorists are to be blamed! It is intended to disrupt the election and intimidate new parliamentarians and presidential candidates,” Fiqi said in a Facebook post.