Roble, Farmaajo on the warpath again as poll enters penultimate stretch

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: A fresh row between Prime Minister Mohamed Roble and outgoing President Mohamed Farmaajo has erupted amid fears it could unravel the tail end of the long-running elections.

Internal Security Minister Abdullahi Nur, who is allied to the PM suspended Police Commissioner-General Abdi Hijar Monday. The Minister said Hajaar had ‘violated the federal constitution, persistently misused the authority, and today the Commissioner attempted to obstruct the parliamentary proceedings by using force to stop the planned sessions.’

But in a sharp rejoinder, Hajaar said he had been wrongly accused and not provided with the list of MPs who were to take part in the election of the House leadership. Farmaajo also rejected the PM’s directive to lock out the police from securing the Lower House elections noting they (police) were tasked with the primary role of election security by the September 2020 Agreement which forms the basis for the current elections.

Interim speaker Abdisalan Dhabana’d accused Hajar of forcing them out of the police academy during the swearing-in of the 16 MPs from Gedo region. The exercise was later moved to a hotel inside the airport compound but also disrupted by armed groups reported to have been officers from the intelligence agency, NISA. The process however was successfully completed.

As MPs troop into the airforce hangar, tensions remain high in Mogadishu over the fate of MPs elected in a parallel process in Gerbaharey who have the backing of Farmaajo. The outgoing leader has since rejected the El-Wak-elected MPs noting only those from Gerbaharey are the duly elected MPs in line with the September 2020 Agreement.

It has also emerged that cracks have emerged within the Committee tasked with the Lower House elections. Committee chairman Abdirizak Mohamed said Monday night some members were misrepresenting information in talks with the media.

“Some members of the house of the people election committee that I chair held a press conference without consulting me about it. They also misrepresented and misled the public that I was privy to it; just to clarify who attends and participates in the election proceedings tomorrow is the prerogative of the interim speaker of the house,” Mohamed said.

Meanwhile, PM Roble arrived Wednesday morning in the country following a week-long trip in Europe.