Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud under pressure to resign

Mogadishu (Harar24) – In a meeting attended by more than 100 members of the Somali parliament have called upon the Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mahamud, to resign from his post due to “incapability”.

The meeting which was held in the popular Mogadishu based hotel known as Hotel Sahafi was spearheaded by the former presidential candidate and a current MP, Abdulqadir Osoble, who was very close to the president prior to spearheading this campaign to impeach the president.

Among the accusations leveled against the president, which were read in a statement to the press, included “inability to lead the country, corruption charges, and lack of putting efforts to unite the people and different clans”. The MPs further accused the president of failing to fulfill any of his promises after two years of assuming office.

The leader of the campaign, Somali MP Abdulqadir Osoble said while addressing the media after the meeting: “This was not a call for the impeachment of the president, but rather to inform the president to resign honorably before push for his impeachment”. He further added that they had the necessary number needed to impeach him, before leveling him with several accusations. He also added that they had advised the president on several occasions in private and public.

Many analysts believe that the pressure on President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud isn’t only coming from local and national directions, but that foreign powers with interests in Somalia are also involved. Some suggest that in a meeting with the US secretary of state John Kerry and the Somali president in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa few days ago, the former expressed concerns of how the president managed things since he came to office, whilst adding that many Western countries that had supported Somalia aren’t pleased with several outcomes since he assumed office.

Other analysts believe that some neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia and Kenya, have a hand in the latest events unfolding in Somalia, such as this campaign against the president. Some of these countries which in known of their interference in Somalia, have been on bad terms with the president since assuming office and are using  some politicians  under their influence in the Somali parliament to campaign against the president.