Opposition in Somalia calls for president’s resignation

[Deeq A.]

Mogadishu, Somalia — Opposition lawmakers in Somalia’s parliament called for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to step down on Wednesday, accusing him of rampant corruption, nepotism, and steering the country into crisis.

The demand, voiced at a press conference in Mogadishu, escalates tensions as Somalia grapples with a resurgent Al-Shabaab insurgency.

In a strongly worded statement, opposition MPs from the House of the People claimed Mohamud had centralized power to a dangerous degree.

“He acts as president, prime minister, minister, and director all at once. He has failed Somalia, fostering corruption and favoritism. He must resign,” they asserted.

MP Abdirisaq, a prominent opposition figure, delivered the statement to journalists, vowing “serious measures” against the government.

He accused Mohamud of flouting the constitution and neglecting his duties, urging him to “resign and admit his failure” as a historic first among Somali leaders.

The lawmakers also slammed the parliamentary leadership for allegedly shielding Mohamud’s administration. They demanded an end to what they called its “coddling” of the presidency.

Al-Shabaab threat fuels urgency

Amid their critique, the opposition praised the national army and local communities for battling Al-Shabaab, a militant group tied to Al-Qaeda.

“Terrorists are regrouping, seeking to expand across vast areas. This poses a grave threat to our nation’s future,” their statement warned, calling for unified resistance against extremism.

Al-Shabaab remains a formidable foe, controlling rural pockets of southern and central Somalia despite a sustained military push.

The group struck back days later, killing seven in a hotel siege in Beledweyne on March 11, per Somali state media reports. The violence highlights the stakes as political discord deepens.

Government slams critics as extremist allies

Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adaala responded by labeling the opposition “mouthpieces of extremists” in a Facebook post.

“These Af-Khawaarij share the same agenda as the Khawarij,” he wrote, invoking a term often tied to Al-Shabaab to suggest the lawmakers are aiding the militants.

He hinted their criticism was a ploy to ease pressure on Al-Shabaab fighters “cornered in the bush.”

Somalia’s political crisis unfolds in a nation still rebuilding from decades of chaos.

Mohamud, elected in May 2022, has staked his tenure on defeating Al-Shabaab, bolstered by U.S. support and an African Union mission transitioning to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) by year-end.

Yet his government faces growing dissent, from opposition MPs to regional leaders in Jubaland and Puntland. The resignation demand amplifies these fault lines.

Political analyst Ahmed Abdi called it “a dangerous escalation,” warning that infighting could undermine the anti-Al-Shabaab campaign. “Somalia’s stability hangs by a thread,” he told Caasimada Online.

Somalia’s turmoil traces back to the 1991 fall of dictator Siad Barre, which plunged the Horn of Africa nation into civil war and birthed Al-Shabaab.

Drought, poverty, and clan rivalries have since compounded the challenges.

Mohamud’s predecessor, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, faced similar calls to resign, a recurring theme in a federal system struggling to cohere.

Mohamud’s administration has not responded formally to the opposition’s ultimatum, but concessions seem unlikely.

With Al-Shabaab poised to capitalize on any lapse, the political sparring risks derailing Somalia’s fragile gains. “This is a defining moment,” Ahmed said. “Can its leaders set aside their differences to confront the real enemy?”

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