Elections
Jan 25
Finance Minister Dr. Abdirahman Beileh lost his seat to Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib. In an interview few hours before the polls, he hinted Prime Minister Roble is standing in the way of his re-election due to his refusal to circumvent contract award rules and the 2022 budget approval process.
Besides Dr. Abib, Asha Kos Mahamoud and Mohamed Hussein Hadi were elected in a ballot tightly controlled by a team from the Prime Minister’s Office. However, on the 27, the Election Disputes Resolution Team has to general surprise suspended for revision the elections of the 3 winners from the Awdal/Gabiley region after a female candidate filed a complaint.
Jan 28
The Southwest State Electoral Implementation Team (SEIT) has released a new batch of 13 seats to be elected in Barawe, Lower Shabelle. Barawe is the 2nd polling town in the state. This is a positive step was widely welcomed by the public. There’s no reaction from the opposition side as of yet but many believes this news unsettled Puntland and Jubaland who fought the 2 towns elections as stipulated agreed on September 17 .
Security
Jan 25
Eyewitnesses reported that trucks loaded with huge quantities of weapons purchased in Djibouti by Mohamed Muse Bihi, Somaliland president’s son, crossed the Lowya’ade border.
Jan 25
With General Hud’s rebellion having laid down their arms, further rebellions broke out at Beledweyne. An obscure officer, Nur Dheere, leads an uprising in the troubled town against Ali Gudlawe Hussein, Hirshabelle president, who is said to be on his way to Beledweyne.
Jan 26
Several planes carrying the Gorgor Commandos, the elite Somali National Army (SNA) troop and the Haram’ad counter-terrorism police force have landed at Beledweyne airport to secure the town ahead of the election which is expected to take place next month. These troop movements have sparked a political debate that is not about to die down. We will cover this topic in detail in a future article.
Jan 27
The Somali army claims to have taken control of several new Al-Shabab areas as Danab special forces also killed 15 militants and destroyed their “tax collection” offices and “mobile courts” in a second operation in the town of Bal’ad.
Jan 29
Somali police have forced several shop owners in Mogadishu’s Bakara market to reopen. A few days ago, Bakara businessmen closed their stores in protest against extortion by the Daesh group. The police also warned businesses not to follow Al-Shabab and Daesh demands for money and promised to increase the security presence in the area.
Foreign policy
Jan 24
The new US Ambassador to Somalia, Larry André Jr, finally landed in Mogadishu after months nearly a diplomatic vacuum caused by chaos in Washington. On the 29th, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abdisaid Muse Ali, received a copy of the credentials of the new American Ambassador to Somalia, Mr. Larry André.
Jan 30
Prime Minister Roble has flown to the United Arab Emirates in what many political commentators see as a search for funding and support for his eventual bid for the presidential seat. The small Arab country is the source of all the troubles in Somalia and in the region.
