Somali parliamentarians table a motion of no confidence against the country’s PM
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA, NOVEMBER 7th, 2014 ( Somali Agenda)- More than 140 parliamentarians loyal to Somalia’s beleaguered president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday tabled a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed in yet another political strife in the war torn country.
The motion of no confidence comes almost a year after Somali parliamentarians dismissed former Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon in similar move. The latest political crisis was triggered over disagreements between the country’s president and prime minister over a recent cabinet reshuffle which targeted the powerful Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Farah Abdulqadir who is a key ally of the president.
Representatives of the International Community led by the Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General Nicholas Kay last week released a strongly worded statement advising against a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed which they warned will throw the country into political instability and disrupt efforts to build institutions. The President quickly released a statement of his own requesting the International representatives to respect the country’s sovereignty and not to intervene in Somalia’s domestic affairs.
On Friday, allies of the Prime Minister questioned the legality of the motion tabled by the parliamentarians raising a constitutional clause that such motions can only be presented to the speaker of the parliament who is currently the acting president. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is in the Ethiopian capital for a regional conference on South Sudan.
The President’s allies need only 139 votes to dismiss Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.
