Mogadishu, Sept. 18, (dpa/GNA) – Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has appointed Mohamed Hussein Roble as the country’s new prime minister as the country reached an electoral agreement.
« Congrats to our newly appointed Prime Minister H.E Mohamed Hussein Roble. I am sure you’ll serve our country with distinction, » the president’s deputy chief of staff Abdinur Mohamed tweeted early on Friday.
Roble will replace Hassan Ali Kheyre, who was kicked out of his post in an unexpected vote of no confidence in late July, plunging the embattled east African country into a constitutional crisis ahead of national elections.
Roble’s appointment was announced hours after an electoral agreement was reached by the federal government and federal member states after several rounds of talks.
It will next be submitted to the federal Parliament for approval, Mohamed said, calling the agreement « a milestone we are all proud of. »
The ousted prime minister and his cabinet were accused of failing to finalize a draft constitution which could have paved the way for fairer elections.
The unexpected decision to fire the prime minister came after heated discussions in the previous week over the model for upcoming national elections, with the central government in Mogadishu sparring with the federal states over the details.
The mandate for the current parliament expires in December with presidential elections also expected to take place in early 2021.
Under the Somali system, the prime minister has less power than the president. The prime minister is named by the president and has the role of managing the day-to-day activities of the government’s executive branch.
