Discernible to concentrate on his bid for the Somaliland presidency
By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – After a tenure of a decade plus the Somaliland parliament is to have a new speaker.
This was announced jointly by the 2nd deputy speaker Ali Yusuf Ahmed and house secretary Abdirizaq Saeed Ayanle at a presser held within parliament buildings in Hargeisa.
“Following mutual understanding within House of Representatives leadership it has mutually been agreed that Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi ‘Irro’ resign his position as speaker” read the statement by the duo.
In pursuit of the resignation a letter signed by secretary Ayanle , summoning members of the house to an urgent meeting on the 2nd August 2017 was also distributed to the press.
The letter addressed to members of the Somaliland House of Representatives read:
Quote- Speaker of the house H.E. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi “Irro” informs all members to that a special session shall be held tomorrow, 2nd Aug 2017 for a very important sitting starting from 9am.
To this effect I ask all members to participate without fail-unquote 
Though the letter to members did not specify reasons behind the special sitting the joint presser by 2nd deputy speaker and secretary leaves no doubt having informed that it has been mutually agreed on the exit of Irro from the legislature’s helm.
Abdirahman Irro has occupied the House of Representatives top perch for 12 years following his election as MP Representing Sahil region in the first Somaliland democratic parliamentary elections of September 2005.
Then a member of Opposition UCID party and with support of fellow MPs from Kulmiye now ruling but then in Opposition Irro won against his then ruling UDUB party Opponent.
According to the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights- NORDEM ,observer team’s report, the 2005 Lower House of Parliament Election marked another important step forward in the process of democratic development in Somaliland. For the first time, “Somaliland has an elected Lower House of Parliament” Read the report adding that “In spite of the problems and challenges described in this report, the representatives of this Lower House of Parliament have, unlike on any other previous occasion, been chosen by the ballot in a peaceful and a largely competitive environment”
Read: The NORDEM Report on ELECTIONS FOR THE Somaliland LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT of September 2015
His resignation much anticipated in by many in the country is related to his candidacy for the Somaliland presidency under sponsorship by Wadani the Opposition party he founded in 2012 after a major fallout with former political bedfellow and leader of UCID Eng Feisal Ali Warabe.
Though he has had a checkered stint at the helm of the Somaliland legislature Irro who is to face off with Kulmiye’s Muse Behi and UCID’s Feisal Ali in Elections slated for this November his exit leaves open a bruising battle for replacement.
While the 1st deputy Speaker Bashe Mohamed Farah has never shied from revealing both covert and overt his ambitions to remove and replace Irro, ascending to the top perch is at the moment a very uphill task for him.
For Bashe Mohamed of the ruling Kulmiye party to replace the resigning Abdirahman Irro, the daunting challenge from MP Suleiman Kore a Kinsman from the Same region is the uphill task he has to defeat.
While both are from the ruling Kulmiye party which owes Bashe lots of favours for his pursuit of making life difficult for Irro, (Culminating to brutal physical contact) the youthful Kore has the nod from not only his clan but allegedly from a majority of both Opposition and ruling party Members.
With the two MPs from Sool region Bashe Mohamed and Suleiman Kore respectively having long ago declared their interest in the speakership of the Somaliland parliament, it is yet to be seen if Wadani shall nominate one of its own to replace Irro.
On the other hand , regardless of Irro having to miss out on the prestige of house speaker , his resignation gives him the leeway to concentrate only on his presidential campaign which he is contesting n a Wadani party ticket come 13th November 2017
