Hiiraan Online
Wednesday October 4, 2017
Mogadishu (HOL) - Embattled Galmudug President Ahmed Duale Gelle Haaf on Tuesday evening has condemned a decision by a high court in Galmudug to uphold the-the regional Parliaments vote of no confidence against him, saying his recently formed state government has yet to appoint a court.
Speaking to reporters, Ahmed Haaf said that “there has never been any high court in Galmudug”.
At least one of the judges who was purported to have signed the ruling denied that he had taken part saying that the document was a forgery.
Abdikader Mohamed Elmi, the deputy chairman of the court said: “I have no knowledge of this document, and I had no part in writing it or signing it".
On September 26, members of the regional parliament voted to remove Haaf, over a decision to break from the official federal government position and side with Saudi Arabia in the Gulf crisis. His deputy, as well as the speaker of parliament and the deputy speaker of parliament, were to all meet the same fate just days later.
The contentious vote has plunged Galmudug into a political crisis just 5 months after the former federal Member of Parliament was elected President of Galmudug.
The ongoing Gulf crisis has placed Somalia in the middle of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Qatar and the Saudi-UAE (and to a lesser extent Egypt and Bahrain). By declaring its neutrality, many believe that Somalia is quietly supporting Qatar in the row.