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Editorial | Insights into power, policy, and governance across the Horn.
#AxadleTimes #HornOfAfricaPolitics #Somalia #Ethiopia
In Mogadishu, leaders should approach conversations with honesty
EDITORIAL | The ongoing talks between President Farmaajo and leaders of Puntland and Jubaland need to be encouraged. From the beginning, there are many positive things that can come out of such meetings, but the most important is the hope it gives our country. First, it has been the call of every stakeholder that political leaders approach discussions on election models and calendars with an open mind. Second, stakeholders have also called for leaders to work towards consensus and avoid unilateral movements that…
Position for prime minister should not be a political chess piece
EDITORIAL | The delays in the appointment and the subsequent approval of a new Prime Minister of Somalia are an issue that should be addressed. More than a month after Hassan Khaire was ousted in a controversial no-confidence motion, President Mohamed Farmaajo has not come out to appoint his successor. Instead, the country has been run under the functioning capacity of Mahdi Gulaid as interim prime minister since July. The problem with this event is not that Mr. Guled is incompetent or lacks the know-how to…
Somalia’s true spoilers may have been present at the Dhusamareb meeting
EDITORIAL | On Thursday evening, August 20, many Somalis were aware of an election model in which constituency committees will be used instead of accusing allies to elect the next parliament. According to the document released last night, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and federal state presidents in Hirshabelle, Southwest and Galmudug as well as the mayor of Mogadishu; agreed that each Member of Parliament be elected by 301 delegates, and the Members of Parliament then elect the President. In short, Somalia…
Ball in Farmaajo’s hands to save the country from chaos
EDITORIAL | Somalia is expected to enter a crucial weekend today for the long-awaited Dhusamareb III meeting. This meeting is expected to know proposals on the election model and end with consensus on the best choice for the country to hold elections on time. But as the clock ticked towards Saturday, fears arose that the meeting could not happen at all. The reason is a growing distrust between the federal government and the federal member states and other stakeholders. On Thursday, various Somalia partners had…
Why the Somali Government should even encourage participation in more ‘Mudolood forums’.
EDITORIAL | Another week passed without Somalia knowing when or how to hold the forthcoming parliamentary elections. As time goes on, some individuals and local groups have come forward to try to find a solution. On Thursday, the Mudulood clan gathered in Mogadishu issued a statement, a kind of statement, on a number of issues. Among them was the call for timely elections, which they warned would cause a serious political crisis if the votes were delayed or the terms of the current powers were arbitrarily…
Khaire’s departure means Somalia has a minor scapegoat, but the original problem persists
EDITORIAL | Very few people can predict Somalia's political landscape these days. And the events of the last week were in line with this uncertainty. The general feeling, however, is that Somalia needs a solution on how to conduct elections. So how did the country end up here? It is true that Somalia should have elections for a one-man vote by November this year. Every stakeholder failed to ensure that this happens, especially the Federal Government of Somalia . In the wake of this failure, the leaders then…
According to Dhusamareb, Somalia’s leaders are guilty of kicking the can down the road
EDITORIAL | After nearly a week of meetings in Dhusamareb, the capital of the state of Galmudug, Somalia's leaders failed to decide which electoral model to choose. They could not agree on the date of the election or even the participants. Instead, leaders allegedly 'agreed' on timely elections. With all the funfair and photo ops in Galmudug, Somalia's political leaders failed to guide ordinary citizens about their political future. There are those who claim that the mere acceptance of meeting by President…
Somalia’s president could help remove uncertainty about the voting model
EDITORIAL | The first two weeks of July have been an eventful mass of political activities in Somalia. But the public is not yet aware of a solution to an ongoing problem: the kind of elections the country will hold before the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. This week, federal state presidents have gathered in Dhusamareb, the capital of the state of Galmudug. The agenda was to strengthen their voice on the national political stage and push for a common position on elections and other important issues. After…
Few Somalis want elections delayed, so why can leaders not work towards it?
EDITORIAL | The claims of Somali Prime Minister Hassan Khaire that elections should be held on time to avoid future security and constitutional crises are welcome. Sir. Khaire's comments after the meeting with his cabinet in Mogadishu signal that the federal government in Somalia is really focused on holding elections on time as planned. Somalia had scheduled elections for lawmakers before the end of this year to replace MPs whose term ends in late October. The country was expected to elect a federal president by…
Somalia’s international partners are failing to press for timely elections
EDITORIAL | Somalia's election program may have hit its head last week when the head of the National Independent Electoral Commission admitted it could not hold elections on time. Citing war between stakeholders, uncertainty and incomplete legal system; Ms. Halima Ismail suggested instead of having some sort of extension of the established to either a paper-based choice (before) or a biometric choice . But the concern from this concession has been the apparent change in attitude from Somalia's international…