Opposition candidates for the Somali presidency have accused President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed of blocking the holding of elections in the country to prolong his rule, while denouncing his “divisive and exclusionary policies”.
“The former president’s argument that he should remain in office until his successor is elected is hypocritical given that he himself is the main reason for the delay of the electoral process,” the Council of Opposition Candidates (CPC) has indicated.
Thus, they have stated that “the Constitution stipulates a four-year term” and have charged against the president, popularly known as ‘Farmajo’, of whom they have said that “he will continue to disrupt efforts to hold a democratic process”.
“The divisive and exclusionary policies of ‘Farmajo’ against federal states and political opponents, as well as his intentional strategy of continuously postponing elections to seek an illegal extension of his mandate or seize power by military means, have unleashed a political crisis that threatens the stability of Somalia,” they said.
On the other hand, they reiterated their accusations against the security forces for the repression of the protests of February 19 in the capital, Mogadishu, which resulted in at least ten deaths, according to the Somali Guardian news portal.
In this sense, they have pointed out that the training granted by foreign countries to the security forces “is used to repress demonstrators and attack members of the CPC”, in reference to the presence of several candidates in the aforementioned protests.
The criticism was published hours before the arrival in Mogadishu of the presidents of Jubaland and Puntland regions, Ahmed Madobe and Abdulahi Deni, respectively, ahead of the new meeting to address the crisis, as reported by the portal Goobjoog News.
The CPC already charged last week against ‘Farmajo’ following the collapse of talks between the government and the opposition, which were being led by Prime Minister Mohamed Husein Roble, to address the crisis, heightened by the end of his term in office on February 8 without elections.
Opposition candidates announced on February 8 that they would no longer recognize ‘Farmajo’ due to the end of his mandate, while betting on the creation of a body in charge of the preparation of the next elections. The Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Mursal, has ruled out an extension of the President’s mandate.
The controversy was sparked by the opponents’ rejection of the work of the body set up by the September 17 agreement to organize the elections because of its composition, which they consider to be made up of political appointees, intelligence agents and “friends” of the President.
