PRETORIA (TASS): An attempt to overthrow the federal government, which is backed by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, was made in Somalia on Monday. Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble announced this in his address to the people.
“An open attempt was made to overthrow the government, the constitution and existing laws,” the Somali Guardian news portal quoted the head of government . The prime minister stressed that these actions of the President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, were aimed at staying in the post of head of state after the expiration of his term of office. “Mohamed is now doing everything to disrupt the elections in the country and illegally remain in his post,” the prime minister said.
“My government is now in charge of leading the country,” Roble said. “I order the leadership of the security forces to obey only my orders, not the president of the country.” The prime minister stressed that those from the military who ignore the orders of the prime minister’s office will be brought to justice.
Roble also called on Mohamed to step down immediately from the presidency. “Leave the office of head of state and lead your campaign for re-election,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Somali news portal Garowe reports that the mobilization of troops that are in opposition to President Mohamed has begun in the country’s capital Mogadishu. According to the newspaper, the head of state was given 24 hours to leave the presidential residence.
The head of state issued a decree on Monday morning to suspend the powers of Prime Minister Roble pending a corruption case involving the head of government. The prime minister is accused of involvement in the construction of a mansion on a land plot owned by the Somali Navy. Roble claims the case is politically motivated.
A few hours after the publication of the decree of the head of state, the office of the prime minister was occupied by special forces, which remain loyal to Mohamed. However, Roble soon arrived at the building surrounded by troops, including the forces of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. As a result, the military, trying to fulfill the order of President Mohamed to suspend the activities of the prime minister, were forced to leave the government premises.
The first reciprocal step of the prime minister was to call the military in order to discuss the current situation, Garowe notes. The day before, Roble carried out a reshuffle in the government, appointing his closest ally Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, who previously headed the Ministry of Justice, to the post of defense minister. In turn, the office of the head of government released a statement on Monday in which it called Mohamed “the former president.” Since last September, relations between the head of state and the prime minister have deteriorated significantly due to aggravated power struggles between various groups in Somalia ahead of the upcoming general and presidential elections.
Mohamed’s term as President of Somalia expired on 8 February. Presidential elections were supposed to take place before February 1, but they were not held due to disagreements over the composition of the election commission and its rights. The term of office of the current composition of the House of the People (lower house of parliament) expired on December 27, 2020.
Last spring, the electoral commission set the date for the elections. Thus, elections to the upper house of the federal parliament were to be held from 25 to 28 July, and to the People’s Chamber from 12 September to 2 October. The date for the presidential elections in Somalia was set for 10 October. However, then these terms were revised and postponed several times. As of today, elections to the upper house are ongoing; they have not yet begun for the lower one.
Somalia has a special system for electing members of the federal parliament and the head of state. In the first phase, the elders of the existing Somali communities appoint delegates, who then select the 275 members of the lower house of parliament. In turn, regional parliaments appoint 54 senators who sit in the upper house. The president is elected by the entire parliament.
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