For several days, major political parties in Somali met in Mogadishu. The purpose of holding these meetings was to form a single platform that unites all of them. However, it is already clear that they cannot agree on the new organization’s structure.
The parties involved in the parties are Himilo Qaran (National Aspirations), ILAYS, and the Union for Peace and Development (UPD). They have already agreed to merge into a single party with a chairman and the relevant deputies. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a former president of the country, is to lead the alliance. Following their talks, leaders of those three parties visited Abdirahman Abdishakur, who leads the Wadajir Party, to ask him to join them in their quest to create a united movement.
However, Abdishakur expressed his displeasure at the lack of consultation. To remedy this, he proposed the appointment of a coordinator. Additionally, he expressed his reservations with a few of the parties, citing their continued involvement in discussions with the government. He also said that other parties were yet to clarify why they held similar positions with the government. In this regard, he cited the support that top Himilo Qaran officials were extending to Ahmed Qorqor, a presidential candidate in Galmudug State.
Abdishakur made several propositions. First, he stated that the parties involved in the discussions must make several compromises before selecting a leader and chairman. Furthermore, Wadjir Party leader asked his colleagues to be ready for a complete merger. The commitments include being prepared to follow one policy for all elections in Banadir, HirShabelle, and Galmudug regions. Moreover, he said that the platform needs one flagbearer for the upcoming 2020 elections. The platform should also be ready to approach and interact with Farmajo’s government as a united front.
Without real unity, some of the parties that share similar policies with the government and any other that they talk with must restrict themselves to work together on the issues they agree on only. They should do that with the help of a coordinator who guides any decision made on such matters.
Wadajir Party has never hidden its opposition to the policies that the administration of President Farmajo develops. Consequently, it would be interesting to see how it relates to parties that are pushing for a merger despite sharing common policies with Nabad iyo Nolol, the ruling party.
