By The Star Staff Writer
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmajo” has on Monday announced that he was running for a second term “to continue the change” his administration had started more than five years ago in the country.
The decision has ended months of speculations on whether he would contest in the presidential election due to be held on May 15.
The president, whose term ended last year, has a huge advantage over the dozens of candidates vying for the nation’s top job. The unpopularity and obscurity of many of them are making the race all the more easier for the incumbent to sail to re-election.
President Farmajo’s populist message of restoring Somalia’s lost glory still resonates with many — if not a majority — of the nation’s 329 lawmakers from both Houses of parliament who’re the ones, according to the country’s electoral system, electing the president.
The incumbent’s odds are being buoyed by the fact that most of the contestants lack the necessary resources to mount an effective campaign or to influence the lawmakers who’re notorious for voting in the candidate who is willing to cough up the highest amount of bribes.
As of late Monday, more than 32 candidates, including two former presidents and a former prime minister, have registered as potential contenders, said Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, a member of the parliamentary committee organizing the presidential vote.
“Cognizant of my country and people’s need for leadership and respecting the Somali public’s request, I decided to vie once more for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia to continue the ongoing change in the country,” said President Farmajo early Monday in a speech posted to his Twitter account.
A once very popular politician, President Farmajo was elected on a change platform in 2017 after wowing the Somali public with his fiery message of standing up to the brazen foreign interferences that undermined the nation’s efforts to recover from decades of lawlessness and stand on its feet once again.
But soon he has fallen short of the expectation of many who were disappointed by his underperforming administration that spent most of its time on managing self-inflicted crises, political missteps and internal bickering.
In 2017, President Farmajo made more than a dozen lofty promises — including the eradication of al Shabab militants in two years’ time and appointing a premier who will work with him till the end of his term — but most of them remained unmet.
Instead of being weakened, the militants are now so emboldened and powerful that they collect taxes from Mogadishu’s seaport as well as from businesses in the capital. They also carry out deadly attacks in every part of the nation, including well-protected areas in the capital.
On the political front, things have even gotten messier. In 2020, the Somali parliament, egged on by the Presidency, ousted Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, but the hope that his successor would align himself with the presidency was dashed after the new Premier Mohamed Hussein Roble has closed ranks with opposition groups and openly defied President Farmajo’s orders.
The pair’s enmity is now so entrenched that President Farmajo’s speech was not aired on both the national TV and Radio Muqdisho, which are controlled by Prime Minister Roble.
President Farmajo unsuccessfully tried to oust Roble on Dec. 27, 2021, accusing him of “corruption and abuse of public land.” According to the nation’s threadbare Constitution, the president can appoint the premier, but has no power to fire him.
In his speech that lasted 3 minutes and 21 seconds, President Farmajo made two requests, with the first one going to lawmakers and the second one to the Somali public.
“I request the lawmakers of both Houses to give me their votes, so as we together succeed and advance our country and our people in order to continue the change movement that started on the 8th of February, 2017,” President Farmajo said
The President also “respectfully” asked the Somali public “to once more stand by me in (this) reelection based on the interest of the public.”
In a language both poetic and moving, President Farmajo warned against candidates with dubious track records.
“My brothers, today our country needs a trustworthy leader who protects the people’s wealth and national properties, a leader who believes in and executes his duty as a nationalist and keeps off clannism and nepotism, puts the national interest above the personal one, ready to serve for national duties,” he said. “A leader who believes in the territorial integrity of our country and the unity of our people, who protects the sovereignty of our country and the pride of our people, who only deals with the rest of world on the basis of mutual cooperation and respect.”
He went on, saying the country needs, “a leader who’s well-informed and capable of maintaining the ongoing change that started five years ago.”
Somalia requires “a leader who sides with the public and feels the needs and want of the society,” he said. “A leader who helps the poor and the army who are on the front lines of the nation’s defense, protects the rights of (the staff of) government departments and national civil servants.”
Hours later, the President registered as a contender to confirm his candidacy.
“I have a huge confidence in the parliament of the Federal Republic of Somalia that it will elect a tested leader known for trustworthiness and for protecting the country’s sovereignty,” he said in a tweet written in Somali language.
President Farmajo, whose reelection campaign slogan is “the ongoing change”, will have another opportunity to present a detailed vision to the nation later this week, when each candidate will be allowed to make his case for why he’s the perfect fit for the top seat at a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.
If the presidential vote — slated for this coming Sunday — takes place as planned, it would be a major achievement for Somalia, whose efforts to hold a peaceful, free and fair presidential poll have been stymied by differences between the central government and regional administrations as well as unhelpful foreign involvement.
President Farmajo’s first term expired on Feb. 8, 2020, but due to the lack of consensus on when and how to hold presidential and parliamentary elections, he stayed on, with parliament at one point extending his term by two years.
The decision — supported by the president — drew swift rejections by opposition groups and Western nations who feared that squabbles over the term extension could lead to armed confrontation that would once again plunge the country into to civil war.
The decision was finally rescinded.