Somalia: Prime Minister Shirdon loses no-confidence vote – to step down

Outgoing Prime Minister of Somalia, Abdi Farah Shirdon. PHOTO/Tobin Jones

Members of parliament in Somalia voted Monday to oust the country’s prime minister and his Cabinet after 14 months in office.

Parliamentarians voted 184-65 to oust Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon and his 10-member Cabinet, according to house Speaker Sheik Osman Jawari.

Shirdon will remain in office until President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud nominates a new prime minister, who will then have 30 days to appoint a new Cabinet, Jawari said.

The parliament vote came after disputes emerged between Shirdon, a former businessman who has been prime minister since October 2012, and Mohamud.

According to the United Nations representative to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, the ouster of the prime minister by vote from the parliament showed that Somalia’s institutions are “coming of age.”

Outgoing Prime Minister Shirdon had worked hard to promote growth and progress and played an important part in creating the New Deal Compact between international partners and Somalia.

Somalia’s government, which sits in place in large part because of the security provided by African Union troops has continued tp struggle to provide security and battle corruption. The capital, Mogadishu, though, is much better off today than the years 2006-2011, when the militant group al-Shabaab controlled much of the capital.

Source: Newswires