US goes for Farmaajo, allies for sticking to power, undermining elections

GOOBJOOG NEWS/WASHINGTON DC: The US has unveiled its toughest stance yet again Mohamed Farmaajo whose term as President of Somalia ended a year ago warning of travel sanctions amidst uncertainty over power handover in the Horn of Africa nation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he is activating the provision that bars targeted officials with travel sanctions. The new order, Blinken said, came into marking to mark the first anniversary of Farmaajo’s lapsed term in office.

“I am announcing the implementation of a policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act that restricts the issuance of visas to current or former Somali officials or other individuals who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Somalia,” Blinken said.

Those targeted also include individuals responsible for violence against protestors, unjust arrests or intimidation of journalists and opposition members, and manipulation of the electoral process. Immediate family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions.

The US has further said that the “policy will apply to individuals who have played a role in procedural irregularities that have undermined the electoral process, who have failed to follow through with their obligations to implement timely and transparent elections, and who have targeted journalists and opposition party members with harassment, intimidation, arrest, and violence,”.

Farmaajo’s term as President expired on February 8, 2021, but he engineered a series of delays, coerced the Lower House to illegally add him two years albeit unsuccessfully and frustrated efforts by Prime Minister Mohamed Roble to deliver on his election mandate.