Administration Sees A ?Threat? From The Leader Of The Upper House Of Somaliland

Administration Sees A ?Threat? From The Leader Of The Upper House Of Somaliland

HARGEISA, Somaliland (The Somaliland Globe) ? The Riyale administration accused Suleiman M. Adam ? the leader of the Guurti, the Upper House of Parliament ? of planning to depose president Riyale. The Foreign Minister Abdillahi M. Duale, interviewed by Universal TV today, accused Suleiman M. Adam of planning to topple the government ?illegally by creating a transitional government that would lead the country until an election is held?.
Mr. Adam joined a long list of adversaries that the administration accused of presenting a ?threat?. Over the past two weeks the leader of the House of Parliament Mr. Abdirahman M Abdillahi (Cirro) has come under intense and constant criticism from the administration after the Parliament started inching towards debate on the impeachment of the President and the Vice-President which culminated in the president ordering the closure of the parliament building a week ago. The parliament was re-opened after serious public demonstrations protesting the president?s order that left two people dead and several others wounded.
The MPs who tabled the impeachment motion, among other reasons, base their action on the ?contravention of the constitution? clause under article 95 of the constitution which permits impeachment of the president and vice-president.
Over the past two months the administration also hurled accusations against Western donor countries of interfering in Somaliland politics, even though much of the accusations was intended for domestic consumption. The harshest criticisms were reserved for Interpeace, the agency that was assisting Somaliland with democratization process, which the administration expelled from the country vowing never to allow it back.
President Riyale, whose 5-year elected term ended in May 2008, twice sought and got term-extensions by the Guurti in the face of strong objections from the Parliament and the opposition parties. The current term-extension ends in late October, one month after the September 27 election date which apparently is certain to be postponed yet again.
The Foreign Minister repeated an argument which the Riyale administration has been known to use since March that ?only an elected president? can replace Riyale. A member of KULMIYE party who declined to be named, told Somaliland Globe ?This assertion is preposterous. What Riyale is telling the people is ?you have no choice except putting up with me as I try every possible excuse in the book to delay elections indefinitely. Heads I win, tails you lose??.
Somaliland Globe