Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — Today, the Prime Minister of Somalia, Hamza Abdi Barre, lashed out at the President of Jubaland State, Ahmed Mohamed Islam. Hamza claimed that the Jubaland administration lacks the legitimacy to conduct presidential elections in Kismayo.
The electoral dispute between the Federal Government of Somalia and Jubaland echoes a similar rift in 2019, when Mogadishu imposed an aviation embargo on Kismayo after Jubaland held presidential elections.
In 2019, Hamza was the Chairman of the Jubaland Electoral Committee. He defended the electoral independence of Jubaland State. The Jubaland President rewarded Hamza for his loyalty and lobbied President Hassan Sheikh to appoint the former Jubaland Electoral Commission Chairman as the Prime Minister of Somalia in 2022.
The Prime Minister’s statement on the Jubaland election reflects the short memory of a politician determined to make his words the rule of law. The Federal Government of Somalia attempted to render the 2013 Jubaland elections impossible by supporting a six-region administration declared in Baydhabo in 2012 and by arming Barre Hirale, a former warlord, to attack the new Jubaland forces operating in Kismayo after the liberation of the coastal district from Al-Shabaab.
In 2019, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud flew to Kismayo to attend the inauguration of the Jubaland President, yet in 2024, his Prime Minister labels the same electoral process as illegal. The Federal Government of Somalia is undermining peace in Jubaland in much the same way as the previous federal administration did.
The Jubaland President rejects the 2026 electoral model proposed by the Federal Government of Somalia, which asked the Jubaland administration to extend its mandate by one year instead of holding presidential elections in2024. With Puntland and Somaliland outside the National Consultative Council, the Jubaland President has called for a nationwide consensus-based approach to electoral matters.
For this reason, the position of the Prime Minister of Somalia is untenable.
© Puntland Post, 2024
You must be logged in to post a comment.