Former defence minister elected Somalia’s new speaker of parliament
Former defence minister, Mohamed Mursal Abdirahman elected Somalia’s new speaker of parliament. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Francisco Madeira congratulated Mr Abdirahman.
KAMPALA-The former Somali defence minister was on Monday elected the new speaker of parliament after his predecessor resigned following a dispute with the President.
Mohamed Mursal Abdirahman was elected the Speaker of the Lower House after leaving his defence ministerial position to contest for the speakership.
Mohammed Sheikh Osman Jawari, who served as speaker from 2013 had a wrangle with President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo that analysts say it is connected to the crisis in the Gulf spilling into Somalia.
Mr Jawari resigned ahead of a vote of no-confidence motion against him that was supposed to be tabled before parliament.
In April, security officers loyal to the two rival groups caused a scene at the Somalia parliament after police officers deployed to stop the motion from being tabled against the speaker.
The president also deployed soldiers before the Commander of the Uganda’s troops in Somalia, Brig Paul Lokech rushed to parliament to calm the situation.
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Francisco Madeira sent Mr Abdirahman a congratulatory message saying: “The peaceful election for the House of the People Speaker’s post and the successful democracy in Somalia has come of age,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
