Puntland President and Parliamentary Speaker Strike a Deal over Amended Articles

Garowe (PP News Desk) — Unconfirmed reports indicate that President of Puntland State Said Abdullahi Deni and Puntland Parliamentary Speaker Abdirashid Jibril have struck a deal over articles amended by the Parliament of Puntland.

Under the new rules, the Speaker of Puntland Parliament will have to garner the same number of votes as the President’s or Vice President’s to avoid a Vote of No Confidence.

Spanner in the works: President Deni’s plan to influence selection of MPs from Eastern Sanaag faltered in the face of opposition from Puntland Parliamentary Speaker.

President Deni returned to Garowe earlier today after a visit to Nairobi. Last week, Puntland MPs voted on amendments to key articles on losing a Vote of Confidence while President Deni was visiting Kenya.

Jibril challenged Deni’s plan to have a final says on Eatern Sanaag MPs and Senators to be selected for the Somalia’s next bicameral legislature.

Staying the course: Jibril has managed to persuade President Deni to leave amended articles unchanged until Somalia holds presidential elections in October 2021.

Deni and Jibril have agreed to leave amended articles unchanged until the next parliamentary session. Before amendments took effect Puntland Parliamentary Speaker had been in a weaker political position that the executive branch could exploit by canvassing only 34 of MPs’ votes out of 66 MPs.

“Amendements made by the MPs may make the Parliament less beholden to the Presidency” said a political commentator in Garowe.

© Puntland Post, 2021