Khaire meets Qoorqoor in Mogadishu after announcing presidential bid

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire has continued with his shuttle "diplomatic" missions across the country, over 50 days after he was unceremoniously hounded from office, following differences with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who was accused of engineering his ouster.

Khaire, who served as PM for longest spell than any of his predecessors, was kicked out by parliament, which cited among others, failure to implement the one-person-one-vote electoral model, that had been backed by several international partners, who support the renaissance of Somalia.

So controversial was his removal that the international partners accused the country's leadership of targeting him unfairly, but the pressure did not influence the changes, which were done by determined MPs who are pro-Farmajo, the man who is among others, accused of engineering disunity in the Horn of Africa nation.

At Mogadishu on Monday night, Khaire met Galmadug leader Ahmed Kariye alias Qoorqoor, the man credited for organizing the national dialogue, which culminated in the signing of a historic deal between the Federal Government of Somalia and the member states last week in Mogadishu.

Qoorqoor, a close ally of Farmajo and a former minister, had organized three meetings at Dhusamareb to discuss the country's contentious electoral model before the final meeting was convened last week after days of delays which were occasioned by suspicions and anxiety.

According to a statement released by Qoorqoor, the two leaders discussed Somalia's upcoming elections, which are due in November. Also, the development of the central state of Somalia also featured significantly in the discussions, which could trigger a political debate.

"We discussed the election issues and the role of Galmudug, as well as the achievements made by the unified Galmudug and the challenges ahead," the Galmadug leader, who was hailed by international partners over the role in the Somalia dialogue, said in a statement.

Galmadug held elections in February 2020 but skirmishes almost destabilize the state, following the withdrawal of his competitors, who accused Villa Somalia of rigging them. However, the state's leadership has since reconciled, despite persistent pressure from local militia groups.

Khaire has since announced his presidential candidature for the upcoming elections and is set to run against his former ally, Farmajo. He has been meeting a number of high ranking government officials including Senate Speaker Abdi Hashi after his unprecedented ouster.

Also in the race to remove Farmajo are Wadajir party leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame and former Presidents Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. However, the two have agreed to pick one of them for the elections on the Forum for National Parties [FNP] ticket.

GAROWE ONLINE