President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Monday hit out at the country’s divided parliament, saying that his government will not be crippled by the current wrangles in the parliament.
Speaking at a ceremony in Mogadishu’s Lido beach to celebrate Somalia armed forces day, the president said the divided parliament will not hamper the activities of the Somali government.
He said several attempts to end the standoff in the parliament hit a snag when talks to bring the divided MPs failed.
He said the current MPs whose term was extended several times were initially selected by delegates representing people of all walks of life in the country and the same procedure will be followed to select new parliamentarians.
The president added that the delegates are already in the country and are now ready to do their job.
The current wrangles in parliament surfaced when a section of the MPs claimed to have ousted the sitting speaker and replaced him. But the incumbent immediately rubbished the claims saying it was an unprocedural.
The wrangles reached its climax when MPs engaged in a punch-up inside the parliament over the election of a new speaker few months ago.
The country has been convulsed by war for two decades and has not had a functioning elected national government since 1991.
President Sharif hits out at the Somali parliament
President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Monday hit out at the country’s divided parliament, saying that his government will not be crippled by the current wrangles in the parliament.