Somali parliament ousts PM; President names another immediately

By The Star Staff Writer

MOGADISHU – Somalia’s parliament on Saturday ousted Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire after a vote of no confidence, said the speaker, a move welcomed by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo who swiftly appointed an acting premier.

The rapid-fire removal of Khaire is likely to heighten the politically-charged debate over when to hold next year’s presidential poll and what model to use. The United States has late Saturday night threatened to punish saboteurs of Somalia’s fragile stability.

“We will take measures against spoilers who seek to undermine Somalia’s progress towards stability, peace, inclusive governance, and prosperity,” said the US Embassy in Mogadishu in a statement. “We do not want Somalia to go in the wrong direction.”

Parliament Speaker Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman said 170 lawmakers voted for Khaire’s ouster, while only eight opposed the measure held in the capital, Mogadishu, with no abstentions.

“Therefore, the president of the Federal Republic of Somalia, as per the interim constitution, must urgently name a prime minister and a government that can take the country to and realize an election of one person, one vote within the assigned time,” he said.

Khaire, who arrived in the capital hours after the vote from a working visit in the northern city of Dhusamareeb, said he decided to accept the decision by parliament despite its illegality.

“I decided to be an example for the Somali people and resign from the position I held for the Somali people to protect the country’s unity and not to return to destruction and problem,” he said.

In his characteristic eloquence and, most of the time, gesticulating with his hands for emphasis, he said he served the Somali public with honesty, hard work and transparency, as an obligation toward his people and country.

He said his government scored big achievements during his time in office, like reorganizing the army to an extent that it’s now at a stage it can take responsibility from the African Union peacekeepers who are expected to withdraw the country. He also said he restored international financial institutions’ confidence in Somali institutions.

“We fought corruption. We passed the largest number of bills any government passed. We succeeded in paying the salary of civil servants and the salary of the army from January 2017 (till now),” he said. “We succeeded in good governance and trust. We succeed in restoring Somali people’s dignity.”

He took a swipe at President Farmajo, saying his ouster had its roots in the “the notion toward extending (government’s) term,” which he argued “still continues.”

He said he doesn’t want to “be a part of a chaos and political setback in the country – be it a political one or a security one and a social one.”

“I was never here for power, but to serve the Somali people,” he said.

He said what happened in parliament on Saturday was “illegal” and the House didn’t follow the right procedure “to strip a government of its duty,” nor was the no-confidence vote on the agenda of parliament, nor was it debated and voted on it. He said the decision of parliament to oust him was against the Constitution and the laws of the land.

Khaire’s account was earlier corroborated by Lawmaker Abdi Hassan Ismail, popularly known as Hassan Yare. Ismail — who is also called the Whistle, a nickname given to him after he blew a whistle in protest during a recent parliament speech by President Farmajo — strongly disputed the speaker’s telling.

“What happened here was an illegality. No government was toppled,” he said, accusing the Executive of using the Legislature to extend by two years President Farmajo’s term that is due to expire on Feb. 8 next year.

Ismail said the speaker had not tabled a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Khaire, nor did he follow the procedures of parliament or held a debate on the matter. “The majority of lawmakers” were shouting when the speaker said the prime minister was voted out, he said.

Videos circulating on social media showed more than a two dozen lawmakers standing or milling about amid the hullabaloo and screams of Allahu Akbar or God is Great, with the speaker at one point imploring them to listen to him.

But without waiting for any lessening of the noise, the speaker read the motion of no confidence: “The government failed to perform the required duty of holding the election.”

He then put it to a vote and asked those in favor of the measure to raise their hands, which appeared to be more than a hundred. Next, he asked lawmakers against the motion to do the same, as the commotion reached a deafening crescendo and lawmakers started to stand up to leave.

The speaker eventually pronounced his verdict without getting into too much detail: “The government has lost the no-confidence vote and has fallen.”

The United States Embassy in Somalia expressed concern over what it called “irregularities of the no-confidence vote and Somalia’s future elections process,” saying the actions of parliament and President Farmajo “heightened political tensions and undermined the ongoing process of dialogue and negotiation between the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States, and other key stakeholders.”

“This irregular process is a setback for the reform agenda Somalia has pursued with the support of the United States,” said the Embassy in its statement. “Somalia’s stability, security, and prosperity can only be built through cooperation, coordination, and compromise among Somalia’s leaders; if any individual or institution seeks to dominate the others, it undermines the stability of the entire nation.”

Khaire’s ouster came hard on the heels of his sudden and open fall-out earlier this month with President Farmajo over what to do about scheduled parliamentary and presidential polls later this year and earlier next year respectively.

On July 9, Khaire warned of political, security and economic chaos if the government extended its term, a remark many saw as a dig at President Farmajo’s rumored desire to remain in power for two more years.

Before the dustup, the two leaders worked together quite well, a bond they even flaunted as a major achievement given the bad blood that always seems to develop between post civil-war Somali presidents and their prime ministers whose jobs are ended abruptly and unceremoniously. Khaire held the position since March 1, 2017, when lawmakers overwhelmingly approved his appointment.

Despite Khaire’s claim that he fought corruption during his time in office, there is little evidence that he made any headway on the issue. Many have, in fact, accused him of corruption and nepotism and of serving the interests of foreign oil companies.

Khaire was the Executive Director of Africa for Soma Oil & Gas, a company the UN monitoring group accused of committing “acts that undermine Somali public institutions through corruption.”

In his speech, Parliament Speaker Abdirahman rattled off a laundry list of Khaire’s failures in the last three and half years: Failure to prepare the nation for a popular vote or finalize the federalization process in the country and decide — before the election time — the status of the nation’s capital, Mogadishu.

He also said Khaire’s government failed to hold a referendum on the interim Constitution, actualize political parties’ system, set up a national army that can keep peace both at national and state levels during elections and to include upcoming elections’ expenses in this year’s national budget.

Khaire rejected Abdirahman’s accusations.

“I tell the Somali people wherever they’re that I served you to the utmost of my ability. If I did something wrong I plead with you to forgive me,” he said.

Khaire thanked President Farmajo for “giving me an opportunity to serve my people and the Cabinet that stood with me to rescue the country and the Somali people who supported him, with whatever they can, and allowed me to stand in front of them and serve them, the Somali people who always stood by me and supported me.”

Khaire had one parting shot, though, possibly aimed at President Farmajo.

“The country is bigger than us all,” he said. “Everybody must accept to care about the country. Today is my day and I will care about the country.”

President Farmajo accepted the speaker’s verdict and named Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid “Khadar” as the new Prime Prime Minister in an acting capacity. Gulaid, who was Khaire’s deputy, hails from the northwestern region and is a close ally of President Farmajo.

“It is an honour to be appointed Acting PM by H.E President @M_Farmaajotoday. I am humbled and will serve with utmost integrity, professionalism and with #Somalia’s national interest at heart and in all actions,” Gulaid said in a message on his Twitter account. “We will continue to progress by working together for a better future

Khaire’s exit could provide President Farmajo a rare window to appoint a prime minister who can help him in his alleged bid to extend his term or win reelection.

The president had earlier promised to immediately appoint a new prime minister who will “see the country through this transition period and strengthen the social services of the country,” according to a statement from President Farmajo’s office posted also to his Twitter account.

“While fulfilling his constitutional duty and respecting the constitutional power of parliament, he accepted the decision of parliament,” said the presidency’s initial statement.

It said differences between the Executive and Legislature would “weaken the progress made” in the country.

President Farmajo thanked Khaire for the “diligence he has shown during his time and his good cooperation with the federal government’s institutions” and wished him “progress and good future.”

Six major political parties, including the parties of two former presidents, said the objective of Khaire’s removal was to “pave the way for an illegal term extension.”

“The forum warns of any attempt aimed at term extension,” said the parties known as the Forum for National Parties.

Opposition groups have been pushing for indirect elections in which a group of selected people elect lawmakers who will in turn elect the president. But that system, which was used in 2016-2017 elections that brought the current president to power, was marred by corruption and bribery.

President Farmajo emphasized, in his second statement on Saturday night, that a “timely election that satisfies all will be held in the country.”

On Friday, 22 countries, including the US, the UK and Germany as well as the European Union and the East African bloc of IGAD, urged Somali leaders, who recently agreed in Dhusamareeb to a form a technical committee to work out election modalities for the 2021 polls, to reach a “broad-based agreement” on the matter.

These countries and organizations, which call themselves Somalia’s international partners, said the electoral process in Somalia “must move the country away from the selection processes and toward direct elections, as codified in the Provisional Federal Constitution.”

“International partners therefore urge all Somali stakeholders to pursue their efforts quickly to attain these objectives and keep the country on a stable political path, in the interest of the Somali people,” said the grouping in its joint statement.

The U.S. Embassy also emphasized in its statement late Saturday night that “the only path forward to timely, peaceful, implementable federal elections is through broad-based consultation and constructive dialogue among stakeholders.”

“Developing a workable, broadly acceptable election model is key to preserving Somalia’s security and stability,” said the Embassy, calling on “all stakeholders to act cooperatively and seek compromise to mitigate the risk of a constitutional crisis.”