Somali lawmakers seek to oust PM

Published Aug 25, 2008

Share

Mogadishu - Somali lawmakers on Monday presented a motion seeking to remove Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, accusing him of embezzling funds, the deputy parliament speaker and lawmakers said.

"We are accusing the government of mismanagement of public funds, undermining security and lack of a development vision," said lawmaker Ali Abdullahi Osoble.

Deputy speaker Mohamed Omar Dalha said that members of parliament have two days to study the motion before voting, which requires 139 votes of the 275 members to pass.

It is not certain whether the motion will muster the required majority.

"I am here to say yes to this motion and sack the current government," said Hawo Abdullahi Qayad, another lawmaker.

Hussein was appointed in November to replace Ali Mohamed Gedi, who was forced to resign the previous month after a long-running power struggle with the president.

Since it was created in 2004, Somalia's internationally-backed transitional federal government has been plagued by internecine squabbling.

In July, Hussein sacked Mogadishu's mayor - a close ally of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed - over graft allegations, prompting pro-Yusuf cabinet members to resign, accusing the prime minister of misusing state resources.

Somalia's conflict and power struggles that erupted after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have scuppered numerous initiatives to restore national stability.

Related Topics: