Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdallahi Farmajo and his prime minister Mohamed Hussien Roble have traded accusations about each other’s commitment to delivering a process that leads to free, fair and transparent national elections.
Both men have been at daggers drawn since the country’s election which was scheduled earlier in 2021 was indefinitely postponed over deep-seated disagreements.
In a blistering attack, Farmajo said PM Roble had slackened on his mandate to preside over the task of holding the delayed elections and made a thinly-veiled threat about taking charge of the process himself.
He called for a national conference and hinted at sidelining Mr. Roble from the process given what he called the prime minister’s tardiness and lack of commitment in the process.
“He had deviated from the rules of the electoral process…he tore apart the mandate of the electoral commissions and violated their independence” a statement from President Farmajo’s office said.
However, Roble who was last May mandated to preside over facilitating the process that would lead to the elections fired back at the main occupant of Villa Somalia, accusing his boss of issuing a statement “intentionally meant to disrupt the national elections”.
In a statement to the African Press Agency on Sunday, the PM said Farmajo was the stumbling block to expediting the process.
His statement added: “Considering the timing of the statement from the Office of the President, which came after the Prime Minister had announced an upcoming National Consultative Council meeting to accelerate the elections and enhance the transparency and credibility of the electoral process, it is, unfortunately, clear that the President is hell-bent on disrupting the forthcoming consultative forum, a move which is indicative of the President’s unchanged yearning to further protract the ongoing national elections for personal interest.
He said Farmajo had spent his tenure as president on “regrettably investing so much time, energy and finances in frustrating the national elections and seeking illegal term extension, adversely affecting ongoing efforts to expedite the national elections and enable the country to hold peaceful elections”.
PM Robe said since he assumed his elections’ management role, President Farmajo has proved to be an obstacle to the implementation of the agreed upon election guidelines, and employed underhand tactics with a view to derailing the entire process.
While professing an unalloyed commitment to delivering a free, fair and all-inclusive elections, the prime minister vowed that he will not sit idly by as Farmajo as a prospective candidate exploit the process in his favour.
WN/as/APA