Hiiraan Online

Monday, December 15, 2008

"143 MPs recognised the existence of the government, 20 rejected it and seven abstained," speaker Aden Mohamed Nur said after counting the votes during a special parliament session in the town of Baidoa.

"Therefore the government of Nur Adde (Hassan Hussein) is legitimate," he said.

On Sunday, Yusuf announced he was sacking the prime minister and the entire cabinet because they had failed to bring security to the nation, but the premier challenged the move as unconstitutional.

According to the transitional federal charter, the president needs parliament's approval to sack the prime minister.

Speaking to parliament before the vote, Nur Hassan Hussein said: "It was difficult to work with the president, who disapproved of the peace process."

The president said the government had failed to bring security to the nation

"The president was interfering with the activities of the prime minister and parliament," the premier said.

"It's up to parliament to make a decision in order to save the transitional federal institutions and the rule of law," he added.

Yusuf had said on Monday he would comply with parliament's decision and gave no hint he would resign should parliament confirm Hussein in his job.

The two politicians have been at odds over other issues as well.

On Sunday, Hussein accused Yusuf of seeking to scuttle a months-old UN-sponsored reconciliation process with the main political opposition group, the Islamist-dominated Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS).

"The president abused the power of his office and undermined the legitimacy of parliament... The president was attempting to sabotage peace efforts between TFG and the ARS," the premier said.

The UN mediator of the talks warned that the latest row risked hindering ongoing reconciliation efforts and African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping also voiced concern.

Yusuf's move "has the potential of undermining the sustained efforts being made by the AU, IGAD and the larger international community, including the United Nations, to further reconciliation, peace, and stability in Somalia," the AU said in a statement.

IGAD is the Inter-Government Authority on Development, a regional organisation which has contributed to peace negotiations in Somalia and the creation of its transitional institutions.

Hussein, 70, was sworn in on November 2007 but has been at loggerheads with Yusuf in recent months, notably over ongoing efforts to strike a reconciliation agreement with the Islamist-led opposition.

Hussein replaced Ali Mohamed Gedi who was forced to resign after months of a bruising power struggle with Yusuf, a veteran warlord who has headed Somalia's transitional administration since its inception in 2004.

Somalia's transitional parliament is based in the town of Baidoa.

In September 2008, Hussein survived a vote of no confidence after being accused by some lawmakers of embezzling state funds, against a backdrop of deepening differences with Yusuf.

SOURCE: AFP, Monday, December 15, 2008