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Monday, December 15, 2008
BAIDOA, Somalia (AFP) — Somalia's parliament on Monday overwhelming
backed the government of Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, a day after
President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced his dismissal."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