Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed met with newly elected
speaker of the Somali transitional parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden at
the Somali presidential palace, Radio Garowe reports.

Sheikh Adan, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister, was
elected the new speaker, after winning easily over four other contenders.

He previously held the position between 2004 and late 2006 before leaving
after going into severe brawls with the former regime led by President
Abdullahi Yussuf Ahmed.

According to inner sources in the palace, the meeting held on Friday night
lasted for several hours with President Sharif asking speaker Aden to put
forth vote of confidence the current Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid
Sharmarke government so as to allow him elect a new premier.

"Sheikh Sharif requested changes to be made in the government, but it is not
clear if the new Speaker, a close buddy of Sharmarke, would accept," said a
top official at Villa Somalia.

The two leaders also discussed the decision taken by second speaker Prof.
Omar Dalha to retain his seat.

The Somali President announced last week that he was appointing a new the
prime Minister after dissolving the government but the Premier defied orders
to leave the office, saying the president has no constitutional mandate to
do.

However, President Sharif later rescinded the decision after holding "wider
consultations" with constitutional lawyers, MPs and other top government
officials on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Somali President has left the country for trip to Europe where he
is expected to attend the annual Africa France Summit in Paris.

After the Paris summit, President Sharif is scheduled to travel to Germany where he
would held meeting with his host President Horst Köhler and Chencellor
Angela Merkel.

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GAROWE ONLINE