Mogadishu (UM) – The campaign to be the next Speaker of the Somali Parliament is well on the way and many hopeful candidates are rallying MPs for support. Although, the Speaker role has generated some interest from MPs from other clans seeking to disrupt the 4.5 structure to pressurise the President and Prime Minister, the Speaker will be from the Digil and Mirifle Clan.
In interviews with Mogadishu residents, UM found that most people did not care about the Speakers election and just wanted the political process to fix itself so that they can get on with their lives.
“This is nothing a fight the ordinary people care about because Somali politics doesn’t affect our lives that much because it doesn’t improve anything for us,” said Mohamed Mahamud Ibrahim, a petrol station worker. “These MPs and government officials come, we fill their tanks and they speed off again with their guards.”
“These elections are elite games played in a bubble by Somali politicians who are out of touch with everything in Somalia,” said a political analyst who did not want to be named. “ Whoever the Speaker is nobody cares because it is one family and all Somalis are hostage for this election.”
When asked what the potential impact of the election of a new Speaker could be in stabilising Somali politics, most interviewees said very little. Many interviewees pointed to the politicised process of selection and the race to choose a friendly person by all competing sides.
“ Whoever comes will either work for the Executive or the opposition in Parliament. But the problem is there are too many angry MPs who have been betrayed by both sides in the Motion that they will be a real destabilising force unless they are awarded money or big government positions,” said Abdi Farah Hamza, an unemployed school teacher.
“ The funny thing is that Parliament is supposed to hold the Government to account and the Government is fighting to elect someone they can control. This will not help the Prime Minister because there are many more opposition MPs and those he lied to to get their support for the Motion against Jawaari. Now, I think the Prime Minister’s motion will be next in a few months,” said a senior civil servant who did not want to be named.
Interviewees strongly felt that the instability to come will lead ot another Motion of No-Confidence but this time against the Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, who most blamed for starting this instability with his actions against the former Speaker.
“ You can fool people once but not twice. I think there will be more instability because the MPs will know the government is weak and they are already blamed for the current situation. Jawaari and his team will also be in Parliament supported by the opposition,” said a university lecturer who did not want to be named.
“Can the Prime Minister give all his supporters and those on the other side Cabinet jobs or money? I don’t think so and because of this, we expect more instability, not less,” said a Parliamentarian who did not want to be named. “ Whoever the Speaker becomes, it is hard to go back to stable politics easily in Somalia.”