Somalia parliament speaker resigns ahead of motion against him - lawmaker

The speaker of Somalia’s parliament, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, has resigned ahead of a confidence motion against him, a lawmaker said, ending weeks of political tension.

“We were in the parliament house this morning ready for the motion against the speaker. Then the deputy speaker came in and read a resignation letter from the speaker,” lawmaker Dahir Amin Jesow told Reuters.

The Constitutional Affairs of Somalia, Abdirahman Hosh Jibril, tweeted the news.

Breaking News: It is official that Speaker Jawari has resigned and the Motion has been put off. Whuuuuuf!!!. Mundane Jawari oo is casumay iyo mooshinkii oo la laalay. #IsooMareey #WhatIsMyName!!

— Abdi Hosh (@HoshAbdi) 9 avril 2018

“We applauded and his resignation was accepted as per the constitution. That is the end of the political crisis.”

Jawari had earlier defied calls to resign, saying ‘I do not work for them, I am not going to resign’.

The crisis, which was fuelled by accusations of abuse of power and obstruction of constitutional reform against Jawari, put the executive and legislature at loggerheads for weeks.

Jawari had held his position since August 2012 and has clashed with other lawmakers, including over a decision to withdraw an impeachment motion against the then president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in 2015.

Somalia has been in a state of lawlessness since the early 1990s, when dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled by warlords.

It has also had to contend with al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab which carries out frequent attacks in Mogadishu and other regions, in a campaign to topple the government.