Somali lawmakers endorse new prime minister
February 15, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Somali lawmakers yesterday approved the newly nominated Prime Minister Omer Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke enabling him to form a government to achieve peace and national reconciliation.
In a meeting they held Saturday in Djibouti, some 414 Somali legislators voted in favour of the new prime minister, nine opposed his appointment while two abstained.
Taking the oath of office after the vote, Sharmarke pledged to form a national unity government and give the priority for peace and security. He also said to continue the dialogue with armed factions opposed to the Somali government.
“I will form a government of national unity that will give top priority to peace and security,” he told parliament. “The nation and the people are waiting for us.”
The election of a moderate Islamist, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former leader of Islam Courts Union, and Sharmarke, a former diplomat and member of Somalia’s diaspora, are seen as creating a new political dynamic in the country.
The President Ahmed who proposed Sharmarke for the post, expected in a brief speech before the Somali parliament that the new prime minister forms a government of national unity. He also called on the members of the parliament to work together in the interest of the country.
The Prime Minister has a month to appoint a new cabinet to be endorsed by the parliament before dealing with many outstanding issues and above all the hardliner Al-Shebab who control some parts of the capital.
Sharmake is the son of former President of Somalia, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, who was assassinated in 1969. He worked for the United Nations in Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone,[2][4] and served as a political advisor on the Darfur conflict in Sudan. Also he was nominated as the Somali ambassador for the US by the Somali government led by the former Somali leader Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed.
(ST)