January 11, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia’s Parliament Set To Pick Its Speaker
11 January – Source: Garowe Online – 160 Words
The MPs of Somalia’s Lower House chamber are casting their votes to elect a new Speaker in a secret ballot in Mogadishu, after they had been inaugurated in the capital on December 2016. Former Speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari and MP Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig are among other candidates vying for the seat of the Speaker of the Parliament. The first round of the election is underway, the candidates with the majority votes will proceed in the second round.
The local media, mainly TV channels are broadcasting live the election event. Mogadishu was locked-down ahead of the election for the Parliament Speaker. Hundreds of police and Intelligence forces have been deployed in the main roads of the capital and the surrounding areas. On Thursday, the MPs are scheduled to vote for the Deputy Speakers of the Lower House. After the voting for the parliament leadership, the legislators will elect a new president on a date to be set later.
Key Headlines
- Somalia’s Parliament Set To Pick Its Speaker (Garowe Online)
- An Elder Says “No-confidence Vote” Could Further Destabilize Galmudug (Goobjoog News)
- International Community Representatives To Witness Parliamentary Speaker Elections (Jowhar.com)
- Al Franken Lays Into Trump For Attacking Minnesota’s Somali-American Community (Thinkprogress.org)
- Amid Dwindling Donor Support One Million Displaced Somali Refugees Grow Hopeless UN Agency Warns (UN News Centre)
- From Refugee To Immigration Minister: Ahmed Hussen Appointed Cabinet Role (The Globe and Mail)
NATIONAL MEDIA
An Elder Says “No-confidence Vote” Could Further Destabilize Galmudug
11 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 222 Words
Mohamed Hassan Haad, a well known traditional has warned the MPs that the no-confidence motion passed on Monday could further destabilize the region amid ongoing fighting and tensions. The elder said MPs in Adado were politically motivated by individuals who are the enemies of Galmudug State. He said the move could lead to political crises in Galmudug.
Hassan said it is sad to see a handful MPs destroying Galmudug government with their own hands. The elder condemned the move by the parliament ouster of the president, citing the move could not be accepted as it is against the constitution of Galmudug state. “As traditional elders, we do not recognize the impeachment over motion passed by the parliament,” said Hassan.
Meanwhile the the regional leader, Abdikarin Hussein Hussein Guuled criticised the motion saying the normal sessions of the parliament remained closed and the MPs are still on their vocation. “Several MPs who held a secret meeting at a cafe in Adado could not vote me out of the power, as the parliament sessions are not yet opened officially,” Mr Guled said at a press conference. On Tuesday, 54 parliamentarians have voted for the impeachment motion against Guled, during a show of hands ballot. The Assembly accused Guled of incompetence and frequent absence from the region.
International Community Representatives To Witness Parliamentary Speaker Elections
11 January – Source: Jowhar.com – 116 Words
Security has been beefed up in Mogadishu ahead of today’s parliamentary speaker elections to be witnessed by representatives of the international community. Acting speaker Osman Elmi Boqorre told the local media that preparations have been completed for the exercise. A section of MPs who spoke to the media termed the elections a momentous occasion expressing hopes it will be done in a free and fair manner.
Immediate former Speaker Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari will defend his seat facing stiff competition from three other candidates including Abdirashid Mohamed Hiddig, Abdifatah Mohamed Ibrahim Geesey and MP Idiris Adan Dhaktar. Many believe the election pattern will be a prelude to how MPs will vote for the incoming Federal President.
INTERNATIONAL
Al Franken Lays Into Trump For Attacking Minnesota’s Somali-American Community
11 January – Source: Thinkprogress.org – 251 Words
On Tuesday, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) used a confirmation hearing for Attorney General-designate Sen. Jeff Sessions (D-AL) to deliver a message straight to the president-elect: Minnesota’s Somali-American community is not a “disaster.” Donald Trump described Somali immigration to Minnesota as a “disaster” during his one general election campaign appearance in the state, on November 6.
“Here in Minnesota, you’ve seen first-hand the problems caused with faulty refugee vetting, with large numbers of Somali refugees coming into your state with your knowledge, without your support or approval,” said Trump, “with some of them joining ISIS and spreading their extremist views all over the country and all over the world.”
Late in the confirmation hearing for Sessions, Franken rebuked the president-elect and addressed what he said were similar remarks made by Sessions. “To stoke that kind of fear and hatred was an insult, I believe, to every Minnesotan,” he said. “It was offensive, it was irresponsible, but it wasn’t really surprising.”
He went on to criticize Sessions for saying in June that Americans “must face the uncomfortable reality that not only are immigrants from Muslim-majority countries coming to the United States, radicalizing, and attempting to engage in acts of terrorism… but also, their first-generation American children are susceptible to the toxic radicalization of terrorist organizations.”
Amid Dwindling Donor Support, One Million Displaced Somali Refugees Grow Hopeless, UN Agency Warns
10 January – Source: UN News Centre – 523 Words
More than one million Somali refugees who have been displaced from their homes for decades are becoming despondent as they continue to be unable to return home and donor support is growing fatigued, according to the United Nations refugee agency. “There is a growing sense of helplessness in the camps because people are feeling forgotten,” said Mohamed Abdi Affey, the Special Envoy to the Somali refugee situation for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Somali refugee crisis is one of the longest-running in the world, with people who have been displaced for more than 20 years. Some one million live in camps throughout the Horn of Africa, while an additional 1.1 million are displaced within Somalia. “There has been some real progress in Somalia over the past few months, including the successful organization of elections inside the country,” acknowledged the Special Envoy. “What’s needed now is to build up infrastructures across the country so refugees do not suffer when they go back.”
UNHCR is backing a regional summit, led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, which will take place in March to determine lasting solutions for Somali refugees. A proposed regional response would provide continued protection to 262,000 Somali refugees in a camp in Kenya that has been hosting people for more than 20 years. When a decision was made last year to close the camp, UNHCR lobbied the government with a new plan of action and successfully delayed its closure.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“He sees politics as public service and he is driven in large measure by a sense of indebtedness for the opportunity he found in Canada, his adoptive country. He’s just a great Canadian story. Canada welcomed him and now he will help us welcome others.”
From Refugee To Immigration Minister: Ahmed Hussen Appointed Cabinet Role
11 January – Source: The Globe and Mail – 616 Words
A former Somali refugee is now overseeing Canada’s federal immigration policies after a cabinet shuffle Tuesday. Ahmed Hussen, who arrived in Canada as a refugee from Somalia at the age of 16, was sworn in as Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship at a Rideau Hall ceremony. He replaces John McCallum, who is leaving politics and heading to Beijing as Canada’s new envoy to China.
The rookie MP for the Toronto riding of York South-Weston is also the first Somali-Canadian to hold a seat in Parliament; his election made news across the world, including on BBC Africa and Al Jazeera. Mr. Hussen arrived in Canada as a refugee in 1993 and settled in Toronto’s Regent Park community. While he is proud of his Somali heritage, he hopes to be more than the token Somali in the Liberal cabinet.
“As members of Parliament and members of the cabinet, each of us coming into public life are informed … by their different experiences that they bring to the table. And I’m no different in that sense. I’ll bring my experience as an immigrant to Canada, but also an immigration lawyer, someone who worked many, many years before running for office as a community activist, a community organizer and a community advocate,” Mr. Hussen told reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday.
Mr. Hussen’s commitment to public service began after high school, when he began working for the Hamilton-Wentworth social-services department. He eventually returned to Toronto, where he completed an undergraduate degree in history at York University. Returning to his roots, Mr. Hussen co-founded the Regent Park Community Council in 2002 and helped secure a $500-million revitalization project for the area.
His first foray into the political realm took place at the provincial level in Ontario, where he worked as an assistant to Dalton McGuinty, who was leader of the official opposition at the time. He followed Mr. McGuinty to the premier’s office after the Liberal win in 2003. Mr. McGuinty spoke highly of Mr. Hussen, describing him as a “natural leader.”
TOP TWEETS
@Omaar_nor : #Somalia‘s new parliament votes for its speaker in a secret ballot in #Mogadishu. 1st round of the voting is now finished. #Doorashada2016
@Mohamedkeynan : Election for the speaker of the house of the people in #Somalia just started- significant day for#Somalia.Very happy to see this day!
@messengerafrica : Woman journalist wins parliament seat in#Somalia Upper House https://messengerafrica.com/
@RkIndolia : #Somalia-based #alShabab militant group has said it killed one man and a teenager for engaging in homosexuality…… http://dlvr.it/N4tlLY
@Moshireh 2h2 hours ago: Excellency, it’s the nation’s hope that parliament vote today with the interests of the country at heart. #Elections #Integrity #Somalia
@HassanIstiila : #UPDATE: Same of schools and universities in#Mogadishu are closing on parliament speaker election day due to fears of violence . #Somalia
@PuntlandP : We met with #Puntland military forces in Qandala to commend and ask to commit to their fight against IS & other terrorist influx in #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
4 Candidates including Mohamed Jawari, Abdirashid Hidig, Abdifatah Geesey and Idris Dhaqtar vie for the speaker of the house of people in the ongoing electoral process in Mogadishu.
Photo: @bios104