Somalia's President Mohamed suspends PM Roble amid ongoing political crisis: Report

On Monday, Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed announced that Prime Minister Hussein Roble's powers have been suspended. The announcement has also raised suspicions of an "indirect coup" after a long-running rivalry in which both leaders have traded accusations over the failure to hold parliamentary elections. The President chose to suspend the Prime Minister and revoke his powers since he has been involved in corruption, said the President's office in a statement as per Al Jazeera. The President's office also accused Roble of meddling with an investigation into a land grabbing case. According to the statement, the commander of the marine forces has also been suspended and is being investigated for corruption. Roble's office responded by calling the statement "outrageous," claiming on Twitter that the attempt to "militarily take over" the Prime Minister's office was illegal. "The outrageous statement from immediate former President, Mohamed Abdullahi (Farmajo) regarding the work of the PM & his failed attempt to militarily take over the OPM is a violation of the constitution & other laws, the consequences of which will be solely shouldered by Farmajo, [sic]," read the tweet by the official Twitter handle of the Prime Minister. The outrageous statement from immediate former President, Mohamed Abdullahi (Farmajo) regarding the work of the PM & his failed attempt to militarily take over the OPM is a violation of the constitution & other laws, the consequences of which will be solely shouldered by Farmajo pic.twitter.com/P5gtkaiUsI — SomaliPM (@SomaliPM) December 27, 2021 It said in a separate post that Roble was completely dedicated to carrying out his national responsibility of conducting a credible electoral process that will lead to a peaceful transfer of power. According to Abdirahman Yusuf Omar Adala, the country's Assistant Information Minister, the President's action was an "indirect coup." He went on to say that the presence of security troops near Roble's office would not impede him from performing his duties, reported Al Jazeera. The Prime Minister is carrying out his his constitutionally mandated day-to-day duties as usual, and is fully committed to fulfilling his national responsibility to conduct an acceptable electoral process that culminates in a peaceful transition of power. — SomaliPM (@SomaliPM) December 27, 2021 The long-delayed elections were meant to be finished by Dec 24 It should be mentioned here that President Mohamed's action came a day after he and Roble traded allegations of stalling ongoing parliamentary elections. The long-delayed elections began on November 1 and were meant to be finished by December 24, but according to one newly elected legislator, just 24 of the 275 representatives had been elected as of Saturday (Dec. 25). Regional councils are supposed to elect a senate in Somalia's complex indirect voting system. Clan elders are then expected to choose members of the lower house, which would subsequently select a new President. Meanwhile, the President's recent move reignites a feud that had been laid to rest when he placed Roble in charge of security and of organising the country's first direct elections in more than three decades, reported Al Jazeera. Image: Twitter/@SomaliPM/AP

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Somalia's President Mohamed suspends PM Roble amid ongoing political crisis: Report

The decision raised suspicions of an "indirect coup" after a long-running rivalry in which both leaders traded accusations over the failure to hold elections.

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