The Council of Presidential Candidates has yesterday called for peaceful protests against president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. A former leader who now chairs opposition candidates’ alliance urged city’s residents to turn out in large numbers for the Friday protest in the city.
The opposition candidates say they will hold an anti-government protest in Mogadishu in rejection of Farmajo’s bid to clinch the presidency after his term ended on February 8.
“The protest will be held on Friday and people will gather in different parts of the city to show their opposition against Farmajo who stays in office illegally for the sixth day,” said the opposition.
The call by the council comes barely a week after opposition called on Farmajo should cease to be president and a new team set up to oversee the transition process.
The council which brings together 14 presidential candidates among them two former presidents said it no longer recognizes Mohamed Farmajo as the legitimate president of Somalia.
While the Somalia Provisional Constitution provides that the parliamentary speaker takes over if the president dies or is incapacitated, there is no provision for who takes over if the term of the president expires without political agreements.
Farmaajo has confidence due to the parliamentary legislation and the international community that appears to encourage his stay.
Abdallah Ibrahim, director, the East Africa Centre for Research and Strategic Studies said that the current circumstances are not clear who will rule the country, but the problem of Somalia is the inability to complete the constitution-making process.
The political leaders in Somalia have been at loggerheads over the electoral process since last year due to the lack of concession by the sitting president to resolve the contentious issues, including the poll body.
The outgoing president is cracking down on the opposition by using the security forces to attack their headquarters in Mogadishu, a move aimed at Silencing dissenting voices.
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