PRESS STATEMENT
Mogadishu, Somalia

1. Recalling that on August 12, 2015, members of the Somali Federal Parliament tabled an impeachment motion against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
2. Acknowledging the Press statement issued yesterday, the 12th of September 2015 by the Speaker of Parliament Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari with respect to the procedural matters regarding the management of the impeachment motion.
3. We welcome the counsel of the Speaker for the parties to enter into negotiations about the serious allegations raised in the impeachment motion, and we shall enter into these negotiations in good faith.
4. We shall immediately appoint a negotiation team which will negotiate on our behalf as per the suggestions of the Speaker.
5. We welcome the leadership of the parliament (The Speaker and his two deputies) to act as mediators during the negotiation period.
6. We commit to the terms of negotiations as outlined in the press statement of the speaker; most especially, we accept that both parties shall refrain from making inflammatory statements relevant to the motion.
7. We will also abide by the terms of the Speaker’s statement in so far as petitioning the courts is concerned as the Speaker has ruled that the matter be transmitted to the Courts forthwith, should the negotiations fail during the negotiation period.
8. We commend the president for his courage in accepting to negotiate in good faith.
9. We believe that the Prime Minister should not negotiate on behalf of the President, as this is not a motion of confidence but a motion of impeachment whose allegations are personal to the president in nature.
10. We assert that entering into negotiations with the Prime Minister will give an undue impression that there is a rift between the parliament and the executive, where there is actually none.
11. We further believe that Parliament and the Council of Ministers have a full plate agenda and work plans ahead, and need to focus on this ambitious agenda rather than political negotiations.
12. We thank our other colleagues in parliament for accepting that parliamentary processes ought to be aligned with the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure.
13. We thank the Somali public for their support and patience during this difficult period.
14. Finally, we thank our partners in the international community for their counsel, concern and advise during the last few weeks.

END OF STATEMENT

SPONSORING COMMITTEE ON THE IMPEACHMENT MOTION (SCIM)