Saturday, April 23, 2011
Hiiraan Online Staff
This pivotal meeting was decided last Thursday in a cabinet meeting summoned by the Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
In a press release from the office of the Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that the meeting failed to take place without giving any further explanation.
"Since the Government is responsible in the mature political decision making in the country, we are committed to work together in ending the rift between Government Institutions and there is crucial need to consult this issue with the Parliament” as quoted from the press release.
The Prime Minister is heading a committee formed by a meeting with other Cabinet Ministers to end the political deadlock between them.
The committee is supposed to meet with the Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and the heads of Parliament Committees to unify efforts in ending the Transition Period of the Government.
As stated in the press release, the Prime Minister wrote a letter to the Parliament Speaker formally requesting to have the meeting this Saturday, but the meeting did not take place.
The constitutional dispute between the Somali government institutions (executive and legislative) came after the two bodies extended their transition period which was set to end in August of this year.
The extension which also led an international outcry was rejected by the United Nations.
The decision to extend the transition period came with criticism from the UN and other members of the international community.