In light of Somalia’s current volatile situation, building widespread trust is now more critical than ever, especially since president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has eroded the confidence of the public and parts of the army.
The May 1 vote by Somalia’s caretaker lower house of parliament to scrap the illegal extension of Farmaajo's presidential term and back fresh elections is a step in the right direction.
As a result of parliament’s reversal of its decision last month to extend Farmaajo’s term, he has been forced to hand over election preparations to the caretaker prime minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble.
While Farmaajo claims to have delegated the election preparations to his PM, there is a widespread popular belief that he remains in control.
In the run-up to the election there are very real worries that Farmaajo may try to manipulate the electoral process through intimidation, bribery, or even outright rigging to stay in power.
The people of Somalia and the residents of Mogadishu in particular have run out of patience with Farmaajo. He has turned their city into an open-air prison over the last four years, blockading all of the major streets and restricting mobility under the pretext of fighting terrorism, a problem which has only worsened under his government.
Moreover, the city’s economy has suffered significantly since Farmaajo became president in 2017. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of security have only made things worse, and the government has turned a blind eye to al-Shabaab's extortion of businesses and locals.
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