Subscribe to our newsletters

Sign up to our morning and evening newsletters for Garowe's well curated list of our daily highlights.

Garowe Online
  • Home
  • Somalia
  • World
    • Africa
  • National Security
  • Environment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Cartoons
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
Garowe Online
  • Home
  • Somalia
  • World
    • Africa
  • National Security
  • Environment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Cartoons
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Garowe Online
No Result
View All Result

Why Somalia’s next President could determine country’s survival

Author
03/28/2022
in Editorial
Reading Time: 3 mins read
12
SHARES
193
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋| Somalia is heading towards the most critical stage of elections. We will hopefully see the country elect a new President and turn a page on a challenging year of waiting.

You might also like

Somalia’s next President: Here is our choice

We reject intimidation against free press

In Somalia’s looming famine, aid agencies may carry blame

But as the country awaits the outcome of the indirect elections, just how should the general public be involved and know who their next President will look like? The lesson we carry into this election is that we must never lay the ground for a surprise leader who may turn out to be another dictator.

So one solution for the people of Somalia to avoid this kind of scenario is to check the credentials of the presidential contenders through a public debate. Somalis will generally not be voting for their President, but that doesn’t mean they cannot control who becomes one. And through an organized, somewhat moderated, and balanced debate, we will have an opportunity to pick out the apples from the oranges and leave out the chuff.

Ahead of elections, we will need a public debate where Presidential contenders can sit on a panel and field questions through a moderator who will have to grant each opportunity to respond.

Somalia’s current political arrangement is mostly a compromise. We accepted indirect elections because the security and political situation would make it cumbersome for universal suffrage. And yet the leaders to be elected indirectly will determine the country’s fate for the next four, or even more, years to come. To be sure that we will not be giving our house keys to another dictator or thug, we must subject all contenders to public scrutiny. And the best available tool is a public debate organized by an entity with a proven pedigree. Such an entity must have a proven professional non-partisan approach to politics and must focus on supporting Somalia’s cause and its people. In short, it must have been around these shores for a long time, not just recent germination that could quickly wilt after elections.

There is an advantage in having that arrangement for a Somalia debate. One is that it offers the eligible voters, the newly elected MPs, to know who their candidates are and make up their minds on who to vote for. For a long time, Somalia’s indirect politics only attracted the moneyed guys who said little and pushed their levers using the dollars at hand. In turn, every one of our elections has sprung surprises, giving us people who had no national interests at heart, just their own.

This time, we demand that contenders speak out their stances on what they feel about basic things that affect Somalia: al-Shabaab, debt, poverty, drought, and natural resources. We also want to hear how they relate to Somalia’s neighbors or international partners. Somalia’s future will need leaders who decide based on policy, not a personal whim. And so, we need to know which of the candidates will be ready to defend policy even when it hurts their ego. More importantly, we need to know who will support federalism or kill it at the altar of feeble nationalism.

A public debate is something all presidential contenders should join in and explain their candidature to the public. We are glad that most candidates have expressed readiness to participate in a fair debate. We call on the rest to be ready.

Put, Somalia’s next President will determine the survival of our country. It would be foolish of us if we did not insist on hearing what their plans are.

©GAROWE ONLINE 

 

[add_to_cart id=”676″]

Tags: debateelectionfederalsomalia

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

Share5Tweet3
Previous Post

SNA troops make major gains against Al-shabaab in Somalia

Next Post

Biden under pressure to deploy troops to Somalia

Recommended For You

Somalia’s next President: Here is our choice

05/14/2022
Somalia’s next President: Here is our choice

EDITORIAL: Somalia’s next President: Here is our choice Somalia’s Super Sunday is finally with us. And the country expects to have a new leader in place before people head...

Read more

We reject intimidation against free press

04/22/2022
We reject intimidation against free press

EDITORIAL - Garowe Online this week stands firm in rejecting an attempt by federal government agents to intimidate its reporting on political events in the country. On Thursday, we were...

Read more

In Somalia’s looming famine, aid agencies may carry blame

04/16/2022
In Somalia’s looming famine, aid agencies may carry blame

EDITORIAL- Somalia and its regional neighbors have for months, if not years, been facing erratic weather, including lower than normal rainfall, prolonged droughts, and the onset of pests...

Read more

Fahad Yasin defines chaos in Somalia, he should stay away

04/09/2022
Fahad Yasin defines chaos in Somalia, he should stay away

EDITORIAL | Fahad Yasin, the erstwhile spy chief in Somalia, is a man who leaves dirt on his trail. A former journalist at Al-Jazeera Arabic, his stint as...

Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related News

Who will be lucky? Somalia registers record 39 presidential hopefuls

Who will be lucky? Somalia registers record 39 presidential hopefuls

05/11/2022
Farmajo’s final attempt to sabotage elections through NISA foiled

Farmajo’s final attempt to sabotage elections through NISA foiled

04/26/2022
Tigrayans starving as trucks get blocked by Afar troops

Tigrayans starving as trucks get blocked by Afar troops

01/27/2022

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Business
  • Business
  • Cartoons
  • Editorial
  • Environment
  • National Security
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Somalia
  • World
Garowe Online

The independent news Web site GaroweOnline.com is the online sister publication of Radio Garowe, a community radio station based in Garowe, the State capital of Puntland, a self-governing region in northern Somalia.

CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Business
  • Business
  • Cartoons
  • Editorial
  • Environment
  • National Security
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Somalia
  • World

BROWSE BY TAG

Abdirahman Abdishakur Abiy Ahmed africa Africom Al-Shabaab Al shabaab alshabaab AMISOM ATMIS Biden Danab election elections Eritrea Ethiopia Fahad Yasiin farmajo featured federal Hassan Shiekh Journalist Kenya Madeira mogadishu NISA Oil Parliament Police Puntland roble Rooble Said Dani SNA somalia somaliland Tigray Turkey UAE Ukrain UN US USA Villa Somalia WFP world

Copyright © GAROWONLINE All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Somalia
  • World
    • Africa
  • National Security
  • Environment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Cartoons
  • Sports

Copyright © GAROWONLINE All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In