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Somali president ousted prime minister over election debate | News

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The prime minister, the commander of the naval forces, has been suspended until the end of the corruption investigation, according to the president’s office.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has ousted the prime minister and removed the commander of the naval forces until the end of the corruption investigation, exacerbating a destabilizing conflict in the Horn of Africa country.

“The president has decided to remove Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and suspend his powers since he was linked to corruption,” the president’s office said on Monday, accusing the prime minister of obstructing an investigation into a land grab.

President Mohamed’s move comes after he was accused of constantly holding on to Roble parliamentary elections.

The long-delayed election began on November 1 and was due to end on December 24, but a newly elected member of parliament said only 24 of the 275 delegates were elected by Saturday.

In a statement on Sunday, the presidential office said Prime Minister Roble was “making a serious threat to the electoral process and exceeding his mandate.”

Later, Roble’s office issued a statement saying the president had “spent so much time, energy and finances frustrating the national election” and was “obstructing the election process.”

In a statement, Roble said he would hold meetings to find ways to speed up the election and “agree on a leadership issue to conduct timely and transparent elections” without giving further details on how long the process could take.

Due to Somalia’s complex indirect electoral process, regional councils must elect a senate. The elders of the clan must elect members of the lower house, and then elect a new president.

The President’s movement reopens a confrontation that was resolved when President Roble was in charge of security and holding his first direct election for more than 30 years.

In April, factions of security forces allied with Mohamed and Roble took over areas of the capital, with the prime minister and opposition opposing the move to extend the president’s four-year term for another two years.

Clashes between the two groups forced between 60,000 and 100,000 people to flee their homes.

Somalia, which has had only a limited central government since 1991, is rebuilding and fighting with the help of the United Nations. Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab group.



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