Somalia’s parliament has removed Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire on a suspicious vote, the camera spokesman told the state news agency.
Lawmakers voted 170-8 to remove Khaire, Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman told the news agency, according to a report by Reuters news agency on Saturday.
“We urge the President of Somalia to appoint a new prime minister,” he said.
“The prime minister was unable to establish national security forces to strengthen the security of the federal and state governments.”
Khaire, a former oil company executive, was not immediately available for comment. He He had led the East African country since March 2017.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, in a statement issued on state radio, said he had accepted the legislators’ decision to eliminate Khaire, citing the need to preserve the unity of the government’s various weapons.
“He will soon appoint a new prime minister,” said a statement from the president on the state radio website.
Khaire is a dual Norwegian citizen who once worked as a primary school teacher in Norway and also for the Norwegian Refugee Council before joining British energy explorer Soma Oil and Gas.
He had resigned from his job at Soma Oil as Executive Director of Africa to take over as Prime Minister.
Some viewed their selection as a nod to balancing clan interests in the Horn of Africa nation. Khaire is a member of the Hawiye clan.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
