Somali PM expels African Union envoy over 'domestic interference'
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After the Somali Prime Minister and President set aside their differences to create success for the electoral process, the Prime Minster expels the AU envoy for siding with President Farmaajo.
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Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble has expelled the African Union (AU) Special Representative from Somalia, accusing him of interfering in Somali domestic politics, according to the Somali news outlet Garowe Online, who cited a source for the report.
The newspaper said AU envoy Francisco Madeira sided with Somali President Mohamed Farmaajo when he took the decision to dismiss Prime Minister Roble in December.
They added that ahead of an attempted "coup" by Farmaajo in December, Roble asked the bloc's representative to use additional peacekeepers to secure his office.
Madeira reportedly denied the PM's request and "deterred the process," which resulted in a political crisis in the African Arab nation.
On December 27, Farmaajo issued an order to remove Roble from office, allegedly over corruption. The president accused his premier of interfering in a probe into a scandal over army-owned land. The military sided with Roble, calling Farmaajo's actions a coup attempt.
Prime Minister Roble and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed have long been at odds over the delay in the elections, while experts, as well as the public, feared that their dispute could spark state-wide violence.
Both leaders had been engaged in a battle over who should replace the director of the intelligence service following his suspension over his handling of a high-profile probe into the disappearance of a young intelligence agent.
The two settled their differences a month later and agreed to accelerate preparations for the elections, of which Roble was in charge.
The Somali leaders announced Sunday they had reached an agreement to complete parliamentary elections by February 25 following repeated delays that put stability on the line in the already troubled country.
The leaders struck the deal following several-day-long talks, which Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble hosted with state leaders. The talks were held with the intention of ending an impasse over the elections after they had been delayed several times before.
