December 15, 2004
Nairobi: Somali President Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed has asked his prime minister to urgently reopen talks with parliamentary, clan and militia leaders to set up a new government, a presidential spokesman said yesterday.
Yusuf reappointed Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi on Monday, two days after he was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no confidence, said Yusuf Mohamed Ismail, the Somali presidential spokesman.
On Saturday Somalia's 275-member transitional parliament passed a motion of no confidence in Gedi, sacking a government that was sworn in less than two weeks ago in an attempt to restore law and order.
Legislators accused him of failing to respect power-sharing arrangements reached in complex talks with warlords and clan leaders intended to end 13 years of anarchy in Somalia.
They also accused him of violating the constitution by failing to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days after he was appointed by the president in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where the Somali government is based because the Somali capital is too dangerous.
"The prime minister will name the cabinet, outline his political programme and seek a vote of confidence in parliament within 30 days," the presidential spokesman said. - Sapa-AP