Somali president withdraws powers of PM as rift widens

Somali President Mohamed Farmajo on Thursday withdrew the powers of Prime Minister Mohamed Roble in a move that widens the political rift between the two leaders, reported Xinhua.

Farmajo in a statement issued in Mogadishu said that he has "suspended" the powers of the prime minister to hire and fire government officials in the country.

Farmajo, who has had differences with Roble over the running of government affairs, accused the prime minister of making hasty and unilateral decisions without prior consultations with the presidency.

He also accused Roble of deviating from his mandate on steering the electoral process, saying his hasty decisions could lead to political and security crises in the country.

According to Farmajo, Roble's attempts to infringe on the rights and salaries of the security forces as well as the misuse of power by certain institutions do not augur well for the running of government affairs.

"The powers of the Prime Minister and all correspondence, especially dismissals or appointments, have been suspended pending the completion of the country's elections," Farmajo said.

He said during this period, the various State organs shall continue to serve the people in accordance with the constitution to ensure government services are not disrupted.

Farmajo said the electoral modalities including security, budget including the formation of electoral commission and committee on dispute resolution have been completed to ensure peaceful elections.

He called on relevant electoral bodies to expedite the elections for the Upper and Lower Houses including the presidential polls.

Elections for the Upper House are still underway with 34 out of 55 senators having been confirmed by regional assemblies.

The elections for the 275 members of the Lower House are expected to begin on Oct. 1 while those of the Upper House are set to be concluded on Sept. 18.

Regional analysts said the rift between the two Somali leaders could weaken cooperation between government institutions and if left unchecked may plunge the country into political turmoil.