Sharif has failed the test miserably

General Duke · May 18, 2010

Somalia: President Sharif has failed the test miserably

Yesterday Somalia’s flawed federal parliament issued opposing decisions. The former speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament Sheikh Adan Madobe said the Transitional Federal Government had lost vote of confidence and called for the president to appoint a new prime minster. The former TFG Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake, challenged the parliamentary speaker’s decision. Today the president held meetings with the Sheikh Adan Madobe and the Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake. The meetings culminated in the resignation of Sheikh Adan Madobe, and the president’s decision to appoint a new prime minister “ who is capable of the work”, accord to the Radio Muqdisho.

In the past the TFG saw power struggles but they never caused the dismissal the parliamentary speaker and the prime minister simultaneously. In 2007, former TFG president Abdullahi Yusuaf Ahmed clashed with his prime minister, Ali Mohamed Geddi, over fiscal policies. Their differences came to an end after Ali Mohamed Geddi resigned. Again the fomer TFG president disagreed with his prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, over the reconciliation efforts aimed at co-opting the Asmara-based Somali opposition. The international community intervened and persuaded Abudllahi Yusuf to resign in December 2008.

President Sharif has not learned from the past power struggles How handled the Aden Madobe-Omar Abdirashid duel shows he had followed in the footsteps of Mr, Abdullahi Hayow, who, in 1991, was appointed to adjudicate the political dispute between the late United Somali Congress Chairman, General Aideed and Ali Mahdi Mohamed, former interim president. Mr Hayow’s verdict was: Ali Mahdi is right so is Aideed. President Sharif mishandled the situation by assuming that both men are wrong. And that is far from the truth. One of them is right. It was easy to decide who was wrong. The two men belonged to two different parts of the failed federal institutions. Reconciling their differences could have been the better option compared to the one president Sharif opted for today. He failed the test miserably. More than thirty Somalis were killed in Baraka market after the market and surrounding areas were heavily shelled as the messy power struggle was going on in Mogadishu.

Liban Ahmad

libahm@gmail.com