Parliament votes out interim government

The interim government of Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galayr was voted out of office on Sunday after it failed to defeat a no-confidence motion tabled by disgruntled members of the Transitional National Assembly (TNA). The deputy speaker of the TNA, Muhammad Abdi Yusuf, told IRIN that 174 members of the 245 seat assembly voted on the motion, of which 141 supported the governments sacking, with only 29 voting in support of the government. Four MP's abstained from the vote which took place on the eve of peace talks expected to be held in Nairobi later this week. MP's opposed to Galayr's government tabled the vote of no confidence on October 22nd after accusing the prime minister of mismanagement and failing to bring peace to the capital Mogadishu and the country as a whole. TNA member and chairman of the foreign affairs committee Abdirahman Adan Ibrahim, told IRIN that he had voted against Galayr's government because, "he neglected his responsibility in the area of national reconciliation." Ibrahim also said that Galayr's removal from power was hastened by the, "misappropriation of aid money." A regional analyst meanwhile told IRIN that Galayr had alienated people through an inability to deliver on his promises. "This move has been expected for some time now," said the analyst. "The government has been increasingly criticised by the people for its slow progress with regard to reconciliation, improving security and the economy." In the last year there have been frequent incidents of insecurity in the capital Mogadishu with TNA personnel often the targets of violence. The economy meanwhile has suffered runaway inflation and a collapsing currency. Galayr is currently in the United States and was unavailable to comment following the results of the vote. Deputy Speaker Yusuf told IRIN that the Prime Minister and his cabinet will stay on in a caretaker capacity until the President, Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, names a new Prime Minster, but Agence France Presse (AFP) reported the President as saying on Monday that, "other members of the government can rule until another government is set up, but that would not include Galayr because I sacked him after receiving the parliaments vote of no-confidence." The President met this morning with the cabinet led by acting Prime Minister, Osman Jamma Ali and told them to continue with their duties until the new Prime Minister is named. Under the National Charter the President must select a replacement within 30 days. Somali political sources told IRIN on Monday that they did not expect any sudden appointments, speculating that the President will take his time canvassing the opinions of those involved. Sources told IRIN that there was no reason to assume or expect that the transition would be anything other than smooth, with at least one analyst concluding that the demise of his prime minister comes at an auspicious time for President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan. "Abdiqassim has come out of this very well," said one analyst. "He has kept above the fray and can now go to the talks [in Nairobi] without a government and with a clean slate." The purpose of the talks, called by the Kenyan government who are concerned by recent incidents of fighting in southern Somalia but remain keen to reopen their border which they closed as a consequence of the fighting, is to reignite the Somali reconciliation process. Somali warlords opposed to the TNG are expected to attend the Nairobi talks opening up the possibility that Abdiqassim may be able to persuade members of the opposition Somali Restoration and Reconciliation Council (SRRC) to join his new government. While hardline elements within the SRRC, as personified by current chairman Hussein Aideed, are unlikely to recant their opposition to the TNG, analysts told IRIN that more moderate elements could well seize hold of Abdiqassim's olive branch. All members of the TNA that IRIN spoke to on Monday were united in their conviction that the no-confidence motion represented a watershed moment in Somali politics and showed democracy at work. "It shows that the institutions are strong and that no one man is bigger than the parliament," said TNA member Abdirahman Adan Ibrahim, adding that this was the first time in Somali history that a sitting Prime Minister has been ousted. "I think the vote shows that MPs are taking their job seriously, and are not afraid or intimidated by the government of the day", he said. The decision to sack Galayr after just 13 months in power does however set dangerous precedents. "I'm a little concerned about the message that this vote sends," said one political analyst who asked not to be named. "Will it give the green light to anyone opposed to the government of the day to call a vote of no-confidence and effectively paralyse the system?" ENDS