MOGADISHU, Somalia – More than 210 members of Somalia’s new parliament were sworn in on Thursday with a heavy security presence in the capital Mogadishu, amid an intense political turmoil.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at Afisyoni tent near Mogadishu’s airport with all roads near the venue were closed by African Union troops and Somali police in fear of an Al-Shabaab attacks.
The new members of both houses of the country’s 11th parliament will choose their speakerships and then the President of Federal Republic of Somalia.
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble congratulated newly elected members of the 11th parliament and urged them to be guided by pursuit of the common interest of the Somali public and that they be mindful of all mechanizations to undermine the building of our statehood.
PM Roble says he was elated to witness the swearing in ceremony of the newly elected parliamentarians, saying “this was a key mandate of my government having assumed office barely five months before the end of the constitutional term”.
“We surmounted series of hurdles which were deliberately placed in our way to scuttle the electoral process and prevent the nation from reaching where we are today. As a result, I had to make difficult decisions to save our country from avoidable political bickering and uncertainty”, Roble added.
Meanwhile, Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, congratulated the members of both Houses of the country’s parliament on the swearing in of the new constitution,
President Farmajo highlighted the importance of completing the elections, in line with the September 17th agreement reached by the federal government of Somalia and regional state members in Mogadishu.
He also urged the people of Somalia to strengthen their unity and preserve the fruits of governance, with every citizen giving priority to the national interest and the development of our country.
Somalia’s parliamentary and presidential polls were delayed for more than a year due to political turmoil after Farmajo’s mandate expired in Feb 2021 without a successor in place.
