The Statement from the State Department on visa restrictions on Somali politicians who are “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Somalia, including through violence against protestors, unjust arrests or intimidation of journalists and opposition members…” reflects how committed the US administration of Joe Biden is to destabilizing Somalia.
Somalia has no political parties. To attribute to a fragile Somalia the attributes of a democratic nation state — political parties and clear separation of powers — is an example of superpower political arrogance. USA has no a privilege to take sides in the Somali political disputes.
The delay of elections has many causes. One year ago in Dhuusomareeb the electoral summit to finalize the Electoral Law was rejected by Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam, who thought that the incumbent President’s term of office should end without any political agreement on the election. Should Jubaland President be blamed for rejecting the electoral law and invalidating the 2020 electoral model he had signed up to?
The collapse of the electoral summit brought about a controversial two-year term extension approved by the Federal Parliament. The term extension had to be abandoned in favor of a new electoral agreement in which the incumbent President had handed over electoral responsibilities to the Prime Minister to ensure transparency in the whole process. A few weeks ago, representatives from Somaliland community in Mogadishu headed by the University of Minnesota Professor Senator Abdi Ismail Samatar accused the Prime Minister of Somalia of infringing on their constituency’s right to elect MPs. In Puntland the election of MPs took place in a military barracks in Garowe. Some clans have accused Puntland State government of single-handedly appointing traditional leaders who belong to other clans to elect an MP favored by Puntland government. The powers of Federal Electoral Implementation Team have been reduced to grant more powers to the Federal Member States.
The US State Department has picked the wrong time to step into the political minefields of Somalia. Its decision spoils the Somali political process. This is akin to the policies of George W. Bush, who funded warlords to keep Mogadishu under the tutelage of warlordism sixteen years ago. America is not a friend of Somalia when it behaves in such a diplomatically cavalier manner.
J. O. Kulane
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