Somali Lawmakers Elect New Speaker

Somali lawmakers on Wednesday voted to elect a new speaker in a meeting in the capital Mogadishu, following a recent controversial move to sack the previous one.

The new speaker, Madobe Nunow Mohamed, was elected after brief scuffles between opposing lawmakers during the meeting at the parliament. Five other lawmakers contested the post.

The post of the speaker of the country’s legislature has been held by the deposed speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan for the past two years.

Both Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the ousted Speaker opposed the move by the lawmakers to remove the speaker as the country was geared towards moving from the long-drawn transitional period into a more permanent government late in the year.

UN-backed consultative meeting recently held both in Mogadishu and in Garowe, the capital of the northeastern semi-autonomous region of Puntland recommended the reforming of the current parliament and the holding of new elections for top posts in August.

Political infighting has beset the country’s efforts to deal with the deadly insurgency in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation.