Our Constitutional Crisis: the manifestation of Political Immaturity

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by Mohamed Abdirizak

Wednesday April 27, 2022

Mohamed Abdirizak is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a candidate for the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia

Over the past year, we have witnessed the dear cost of a constitutional crisis and its political implication for the life and livelihood of our people. The political class knew this was coming for the past decade, but rather than seeking consensus on finalizing our provisional constitution, which would have seen the establishment of a constitutional court putting a stop to this present political immaturity by Somalia’s leadership, they chose for political expedience to allow a breakdown of trust in federal institutions, and the division of the country into warring supporters and opposition.

The warning signs this was coming may have been obscured by the distractions of the politics of a zero-sum game, the pandemic, and denial. But about these things, there should be no doubt:

Firstly, with the election of the speaker of the senate, elections will be finalized, and both houses of parliament will vote for and choose a candidate to lead our nation for the next four years and bestow upon the elected candidate the solemn responsibility of chartering this nation of ours towards democracy and the rule of law.

Secondly, whoever is elected will inherit a federal government whose institutions have been undermined from within and outside. The simple truth remains that the present administration has used the powers within its means in both legal and illegal means to conduct its affairs, occasionally in the most damaging manner for governance. However, to my sheer disappointment, opposition leaders were incapable of differentiating between the leadership and the institutions that serve our nation while at the same time not offering a vision for changing the trajectory of our country. We cannot afford a continuation of the immature political discourse within our national debate.

Thirdly, presidential candidates have all been campaigning on a platform of an auspicious picture of their past tenure without any clear policies for the future. The truth remains that the office of the President of the Federal Government of Somalia, now more than ever, requires a candidate with clear policies from day one rather than the tried and failed method of learning on the job.

Fourthly, those who will continue to pay the greatest price for the failed leadership are the Somali citizens who are uncertain where their next meal will come from, the hard-working mothers who strive to pay for the education of their children while constantly fearing whether their children will make it back home due to the insecurity and our youth who are preyed upon and taken advantage by political demagogues, lack of credible educational institutions, tribalism, illegal migration, and extremist.

I believe all policies should emanate from a goal to address the daily struggles faced by our citizens, which is the starting point of my proposed White Star Policy: A five-point plan for action designed to address the key structural deficiency in our governance because I believe all that Somalia’s fathers, mothers, daughters, and sons require is a level playing field based on the rule of law and political maturity to thrive and move our country forward. The simple truth remains that no one else can help us out of our present predicament, whether they be our international partners or regional and multilateral organizations. We are who we have been waiting for! This is why I am running for president.

For more information on our campaign please visit www.abdirizakforpresident.com

Mohamed Abdirizak is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a candidate for the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia

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