Agencies/Mogadishu
A debate on whether to sack Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed descended into chaos yesterday as his supporters blew whistles and shouted out slogans, forcing the parliamentary speaker to halt the session.
The no-confidence motion, which Washington had warned could deepen political turmoil, was backed by lawmakers loyal to president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud after the two men fell out over a cabinet reshuffle last month.
But politicians supporting the prime minister started beating on empty jugs, blowing on whistles and chanting “no motion” soon after the debate started, creating an almost deafening roar.
“Due to noise, we hereby close the session today. Let it be another day,” parliament speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman said after bringing the session to order about four hours later. He did not say when the debate would resume.
Western donors who have promised to help rebuild Somalia after two decades of conflict worry that the removal of a second prime minister in less than a year will weaken the government and leave it rudderless in its fight against Islamist rebels.
Ahmed’s predecessor was also sacked by parliament after a similar row with Mohamud that paralysed the government for months last year.
Security around the bullet-scarred Somali capital was tightened before the debate, with increased police presence around parliament, said witnesses. Al Shebaab Islamist militants have attacked the building in the past.
Despite the arrangements, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car carrying a lawmaker to parliament, killing the driver, according to another MP, Saaqo Aden.
The dispute between the two leaders erupted after Ahmed, an economist who has been in charge since December 2013, sidelined one of the president’s key allies in a cabinet re-shuffle.
Lawmakers who put forward the no-confidence motion have accused the prime minister of doing a poor job and complained about the slow pace of change. The prime minister’s office declined to comment.
Washington warned Somalia late on Monday about the dangers of holding the vote, saying it was “deeply concerned with political turmoil”.
“Actions to put forward a parliamentary motion for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister do not serve the interests of the Somali people,” said Jen Psaki, a US state department spokeswoman.
The US has pulled out of a international summit on the war-torn country.
Amid the in-fighting, Washington “does not see the utility” in sending delegates to a summit in Copenhagen on Somalia later this month to bring together foreign donors and the government.
The US warnings follow those by United Nations envoy Nicholas Kay, who said the tension “puts at risk” political goals including a referendum on a new constitution next year, ahead of elections in 2016.
Kay said he was worried about reports that lawmakers were being bribed with cash to vote in a no confidence motion against the prime minster.
The Somali government, which took power in August 2012, was the first to be given global recognition since the collapse of Siad Barre’s hardline regime in 1991.
Billions in foreign aid has been poured in, including funding the UN-mandated 22,000-strong African Union force, which has done much of the heavy fighting against Somalia’s Al Qaeda-affiliated Shebaab rebels.
It was hailed as offering the best chance for peace in a generation, replacing a transitional leadership mired in ineffectiveness and rampant corruption.
But political wrangles and reports of corruption have raised concern the government, like the last administration, is blighted by infighting and failing to unite in the face of the threat by the Shebaab.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned earlier this month on visit to Mogadishu that Somalia risks returning to famine without urgent aid—three years since more than 250,000 people died of hunger—with three million people in need of support.