MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The leader of south Somalia’s Jubaland state Ahmed Madobe on Tuesday said the prime minister Mohamed Hussein Roble can’t hold the long-delayed elections due to the outgoing president’s continued meddling.
Speaking at a ceremony in the coastal town of Kismayo, the seat of power for his administration, Madobe accused the strife-torn country’s current acting president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo of undermining the electoral process and of reneging on previous agreements.
The president resisted probe into the murder of a female intelligence officer ordered by Roble and is not expected to allow him to hold credible polls, the regional leader said, criticizing Farmajo’s decision to announce suspension of key powers of the premier.
The remarks have come amid a bitter dispute between Roble and Farmajo, nominally over the murder of a female spy, whose family asserts that she had been killed by senior officials at the Somali National Security and Intelligence Agency (NISA).
On Tuesday, Roble played down fears raised that the tensions may push back elections and soothed concerns that the current political wrangling could spark a repeat of the April street clashes between factions of the Horn of Africa country’s army.
Jubaland leader called on the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of the National Consultative Council to seek further recommendations and assistance from regional presidents if Farmajo does not refrain from deterring efforts to conduct polls within the agreed timeline.
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