Farmaajo holds night meeting with PM Roble as Somalia struggles to complete election

PM Roble [L] and Farmajo [R] are in deadlock over the spy agent's murder that led to the crisis [File Photo]

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Outgoing Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on Wednesday held a late-night meeting with PM Mohamed Hussein Roble, sources confirmed, but the outcome of the meeting is yet to be established, as the country struggles to complete the electioneering exercise.

For almost a month, PM Roble and Farmaajo have not been seeing each other for various reasons, key among them inquest to the death of Ikran Tahlil, a junior employee within the National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA], elections responsibilities, and security.

In fact, in September, Farmaajo purportedly suspended powers of PM Roble, but the latter protested the move, arguing that he's strictly in charge of the transition. Roble is still coordinating elections in the Horn of Africa nation.

Multiple sources confirmed to Garowe Online that Roble and Farmaajo held the meeting in a bid to unlock the impasse, which has threatened to scuffle hard-fought gains in Somalia. Still, the country is yet to hold Lower House elections.

The meeting, sources within Villa Somalia noted, was a result of the efforts of Southwest state President Abdiaziz Lafta-Gareen over the past two days. Lafta-Gareen, a key ally of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, has been pushing for reconciliation between the two bigwigs.

It is unclear whether Wednesday's meeting will end the bitter dispute between the two FGS top leaders that led to the split in NISA - the spy agency into two sides led by two opposing directors. Roble had already sacked former NISA boss Fahad Yasin, a key character behind the current controversy.

The face-to-face meeting is the first since last month's failed talks, which were also brokered by Lafta-Gareen and his Galmadug counterpart Ahmed Kaliye alias Qoorqoor, who is also a close ally of Farmaajo. Roble was appointed to the government in October 2020.

The standoff that impacted the election stemmed from the dismissal of former NISA director Fahad Yasin over Ikran Tahlil's disappearance, prompting Farmajo to shield him from prosecution in order to save his political future. Yasin is currently National Security Advisor to Farmaajo.

Several stakeholders among them the United States have been urging both parties to reconcile for the sake of peace and stability in Somalia. Once the Lower House elections are over, the country is set to hold presidential polls, which have attracted 15 opposition candidates.

GAROWE ONLINE