Political wrangles to persist as opposition talks with Farmaajo fail

The Opposition Coalition FNP’s move to withdraw from talks with President Farmaajo which were seen as key in setting the ground for engagements on critical issues among them elections constitutional review and security further compounds an already fragile political environment in the country.

The Forum for National Parties (FNP) said it could no longer ‘waste time on fruitless discussions with a President who has a habit of nodding in meetings but lacks the courage to share the outcome with the public’.

They accused him of failing to honour the first agreement of the talks which was to make public the results of the talks, continued harassment of politicians such as the arrest of Security and Justice Party chairman Yusuf Mursal and disregard of talks to agree on the electoral framework.

With the thought and possibility of one-person-one-vote elections now on the balance, engagements between President Farmaajo, opposition parties and Federal Member State leaders is critical to finding a middle ground for an electoral formula.

The meeting between the two parties last month signalled a possibility of toning down of political temperatures following months of tensions that saw the state wield its muscle to suppress political activities including restricting travel by senior politicians including former presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

It also presented an opportunity to open talks between the Federal Government and Federal Member States especially in light of the former’s refusal to acknowledge the election of Ahmed Madobe and formation of a new administration in Jubbaland.

Farmaajo is going down history as the post-TFG president to run a full term of hostility with Federal Member States. His predecessor Hassan Sheikh Mohamud managed to bring around the FMS leaders through the National Leadership Forum which enabled him to steer the country into an election widely seen as remarkable given the country’s history.

The country is now going into an election with the two levels of government reading from different scripts on the one hand and the opposition locked in a tussle with the government.

Besides elections are other benchmarks such as completion of the constitutional review process, the Transition Plan which envisages handover of security responsibilities to Somali Security Forces and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country as millions still face starvation.