The President of Somalia, Mohammed Abdullahi, has announced the appointment of a new prime minister following a deal made with regional leaders. This deal appears to officially shut down the country’s proposed plan for a one-person-one-vote election model – the model used since 1969.
The President’s office announced on Thursday in a surprise move that sees Mohammed Hussein Roble, a Swedish-trained civil engineer and humanitarian, fill the vacant slot left by former prime minister Hassan Ali Khayre who was removed by parliament earlier this year for failing to pave the way for a fully democratic election before February 2021.
Khayre has, since then, announced that he will run against the incumbent, Farmajo, for the presidency come election time.
Calling on the new prime minister to attend to his duties with “diligence,” the statement also revealed that Roble will take on the task of forming a new government that will lead the country through the transition period as the country prepares for general elections.
One-Person-One-Vote Not Feasible For Somalia
Somalia had previously announced plans to hold its first fully democratic one-person-one-vote elections since 1969, putting an end to a current system where special delegates select lawmakers who, upon entry into office, then vote for the country’s president.
However, infighting between the president and the country’s regional leaders posed a major roadblock to the elections leading to several negotiations aimed at proffering a solution to the parliamentary and presidential elections.
Reaching a final agreement, the president, five regional leaders and the mayor of Mogadishu finalised that the one-person-one-vote proposed structure would not be feasible taking into consideration the timeframe remaining before parliament expires in November and the current president’s exit in February 2021.
A slight win, the upcoming elections will see 27,775 delegates (more than the last elections in 2017) vote for 275 Members of Parliament, who will, in turn, choose the president. While no timeline was provided for the polls, this decision still needs one more approval – the parliament of Somalia.
