Mogadishu, Somalia – On Tuesday morning, the South West State of Somalia (SWS) announced that it will no longer work with Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble on election concerns, accusing him of “withholding seats” from the federal member state and undermining the electoral commissioners’ independence.
PM Roble suspended two members of the Federal Electoral Implementation Team (FEIT) accused of impeding the swearing-in procedure, according to a statement released by the South West State House and retweeted by the regional president, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.
SWS claims that the PM’s decision to suspend FEIT members was illegal, and that they will “never accept PM Roble’s dangerous behavior.”
PM Roble is also accused by the state of stealing seats from the region.
“The PM kidnapped FEIT members and, while hiding behind them, wrongfully denied the SWS three seats for no reason. SWS sees such a move as politically motivated and has stated emphatically that it condemns this transparent attempt to sabotage the democratic process.”
The FEIT released the results of the parliamentary elections for both Houses earlier this week. Four seats – three from the South West – were left off the federal election commission’s list of those whose results had been suspended, according to the commission.
Following a contract reached by the federal government and regional states on September 17, 2020, PM Roble was tasked with overseeing Somalia’s federal indirect elections.