Wednesday December 29, 2021
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Council of Presidential Candidates issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the “attempted coup d'etat” by President Farmajo following his decree to suspend PM Roble over corruption allegations.
A statement from the Council also called for an immediate investigation and prosecution of Farmajo and others involved in Roble’s suspension.
The council also commended the prime minister for his “courageous decision” in rejecting Farmajo’s decree and reiterating the council’s call for fair elections.
The statement from the Council also demanded that the outgoing president resign immediately and vacate the Somali presidential palace.
Farmajo has accused Roble of misappropriating public land, but the PM’s supporters say that the allegations are a smoke-screen to remove him from managing the federal elections.
The PM has said the President was a major obstacle to fair elections in Somalia and has accused Farmajo of plotting another extra-constitutional term extension.
Somalia’s drawn-out electoral process, which is over a year behind schedule, has been marred by allegations of fraud and outright rigging by participants and observers.
On Sunday, Mohamed Hassan Irro, the Chairman of the Federal Electoral Implementation Team, was sacked by his electoral commission by a near-unanimous vote. The FEIT said that Irro was dismissed because of his political bias, corruption, incompetence and not consulting other commission members when making critical decisions.
Irro was widely seen as an ally of President Farmajo.
Farmaajo has accused Roble of interfering with a probe into a land-grab case and withdrawn his mandate to organise elections.