Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Salah Jama Condemns Senate Dismissal as Violating the Constitution

Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama slammed an attempt to kick him out of his Senate spot, tagging it as uncalled-for, upholding that it breaks all sorts of constitutional rules. Senate Speaker Abdi Hashi Abdillahi held the view that Jama had essentially abandoned his role after he was missing from four back-to-back sittings.

On October 13, Jama voiced his concerns, pointing a finger at the Speaker for overstepping his bounds. “It’s unsettling,” Jama voiced, “that the Speaker is going down a clearly unconstitutional road by trying to boot a rightfully elected Senator and swap in someone unelected.” Jama emphasized that as Deputy Prime Minister, some absences were simply unavoidable given his heavy national duties, all perfectly explainable by Article 59(d) of the Provisional Constitution.

Disputing claims of complete absence, he remarked, “I’ve been part of numerous Upper House and joint parliamentary gatherings.”

The move to ditch Jama is causing a storm in the Senate. Plenty of senators, such as Osman Obokar Dubbe, are rallying to Jama’s cause, arguing his absences were well warranted. In leading the counter-campaign, Senator Dubbe quipped that the bid to oust Jama “shoves aside his national responsibilities and overrides the Speaker’s legal scope.”

On the flip side, Speaker Hashi defended his stance by waving Article 59(a) of the Provisional Constitution, which seals the deal for senators who skip four sessions straight. Further backing came via the 2016 Indirect Elections Accord, mapping out how Senate seats spread across North Western State of Somalia and northern regions shake out. As per those rules, Hashi promoted Ibrahim Suleiman Idle, Jama’s past adversary in the Senate race, as the logical pick for the open slot.

Stubborn as a mule, the Upper House opted not to rush a vote on yanking Jama, leading Speaker Hashi to press pause on Idle’s induction.

Keen eyes from legal eagles and political trunk watchers are honing in on this saga, pondering whether Speaker moves like this wash out Senate nods entirely. Some senators talk of the groundwork laid for executive poking and meddling in legislative turf as a risky experiment.

Edited by: Ali Musa

alimusa@axadletimes.com

Axadle international–Monitoring