Somalia: Leaders agree on the end of the transition

The agreement signed in Garowe on 24 December 2011 by Somalia’s political leaders went down in history as post-1991 Somali politicians’ first, genuine attempt to make concessions and look at the bigger picture to end the transitional period of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. What makes the conference stand out from past conferences is not only the absence of foreign mediators but     negotiation on key issues such as the power-sharing 4.5 mechanism. President Sharif  Sheikh Ahmed  thanked Puntland people for hosting the conference and lauded the candour of Somali stakeholders, echoing what president Farole of Puntland said on the first day of the meeting : “We will discuss issues candidly  but we will not  leave  the conference without a result.”
Radio Mogadishu  website , the mouthpiece of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, reports that the second deputy parliamentary speaker, Mr Axmed Dhinbil Rooble  said “ the MPs are not against the outcome of Garowe Conference  but  they oppose the participation of the parliamentary speaker, Shariif Xasan Sheekh Aadan ”, a signatory to Garowe Principles (Shirkii Garoowe ma diidanin laakin waa in la dhowraa )
In violation of Kampala Accord, a group MPs claimed few weeks ago that they had sacked the parliamentary speaker.
Two of most important milestones in the Somali National Consultative Constitutional Conference held in Garowe between 21 and 23 December 2011, are the decision to do away with the 4.5 after the four-year term beginning in August 2012, and that selection of MPs will be solely the responsibility of “ recognized traditional elders assisted by qualified civil society members none of whom shall have political aspirations.” However, this last point was drafted in English in a way that allows some civil society members to harbour political ambitions (“Members of the new parliament  will be nominated by recognized traditional  elders assisted by qualified civil society members none of whom shall not have political aspirations.” )
The four-year  term period will give people from regions with no regional administrations   and people who have been disenfranchised through  the 4.5 power-sharing mechanism  time to empower civil society and form  admirations that will be  one of the building blocks of Somalia once southern regions under Al Shabab are “ liberated”.  In his speech on the last day of the conference president Abdirahman Farole of Puntland explained his administration’s decision to make concessions on  the  4.5 power-sharing  scheme. “Although the 4.5 power-sharing mechanism is not the best way for Somalia to become a state again, we decided to make allowance for people from southern Somalia who participated in the conference and whose regions have been affected by the on-going turmoil. In such a situation they will be not able to sell to their constituencies an outcome that renders 4.5 defunct.”  To look issues from the perspective of the person sitting on the side of the negotiation table is one of the powerful arsenals in the negotiator’s toolkit. Garowe National Consultative Constitutional Conference participants’ achievement   will, hopefully, be a case-study on negotiating   on seemingly intractable political problems.
Liban Ahmad
libahm@gmail.com