Mr. President it is time for you to Resign!

Mr. President it is time for you to Resign!

Confrontations between demonstrator and the police caused a number of deaths and wounded in Hargeysa today. The disturbance was caused when crowds gathered to watch members of parliament attempting to re-enter the Parliament building after the Somaliland administration closed the building down when a resolution to impeach the president was introduced in the chamber earlier in the week.

Allowing the Parliament to come back to session today came to being after negotiation between the president and the chairman of the Elders (Guurti) Mr. Suleban Mohamud Adan. Apparently the president expected the impeachment proceedings to be tabled now that he has allowed Parliament to come back to session, and the chairman of the Guurti was under the impression that there were no conditions attached to allowing the parliament to come back into session, nor could he negotiate on behalf of the Parliament.

When it became clear to the president that the Parliament was not backing down from the issue of impeachment, the decision was made to impede and block some members of the opposition parties to enter the building; this in turn created the condition that sparked the confrontation between the people and the police.

The president is calling for young people to stay home and not protest any longer, but it is hard to say how that message will be received by people who feel neglected and abused for so long. What tomorrow will bring is anyone?s guess as everyone is scrambling to find a way out of this train wreck and UN Special Representative Mr. Ould Abdallah is back again in Hargeysa after visiting there last week.

All indications are that the Rayale administration is having some serious misgivings about the intricacies of democracy when it comes to the separation of powers and conducting timely elections, and with this latest incident the president has lost the only trump card left for him, and that is to safeguard the existing peace. It is difficult to claim that one is for peace, when one is engaged in the very actions that destroy the peace he is asking others to safeguard.

If there was ever a doubt that this president should be impeached, such doubts are no longer viable ones, and for the benefit of the nation and whatever dignity the president has left in him, he should resign and allow this country and these people to resume their natural progression toward democracy and continued stability.

The alternative is more bloodshed and misery, but the outcome will be the same, your reign is over Mr. president, your legitimacy is shattered and the outcome is a foregone conclusion, the only thing in doubt is whether you will leave office willingly or unwillingly.
For the sake of our nation we hope you choose the former.

Mahdi Gabose

East Africa Policy Institute www.eastafricapi.com