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Somali PM Survives No Confidence Vote | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi survived a no confidence motion in parliament, on Sunday.

The motion before parliament to remove Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Ghedi needed 139 votes to pass, but only got 126. Eighty-eight lawmakers voted to keep him. Some officials threw punches and wrestled on the floor of parliament after Ghedi survived the vote.

The secret vote took place amid heightened security, with police lining the streets of Baidoa.

“I respect those who voted against me and those who voted for me. I thank those who brought the motion because they proved that we have democracy,” Ghedi said after the vote.

Defeat would have sparked the dissolution of the interim government’s executive, already in disarray over the threat from the Islamic Courts Council, which has seized control of the capital and a large part of southern

Somalia.

The transitional government is facing severe criticism from lawmakers, after 19 cabinet ministers resigned on Thursday, complaining that the government has failed to carry out its national duties. Analysts predict that the current rift will continue and more resignations are expected in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the first commercial flight in more than a decade departed from Mogadishu International Airport on Sunday.

A plane operated by a local company, Jubba Airways, left Sunday and was headed to the United Arab Emirates, said airline spokesman Abdurahman Hassan Mohamud Mufo.