Abdi Hashi Abdullahi: Who is the two-time Senate Speaker?

Abdi Hashi was born in Babille in Ethiopia’s Oromia on December 1, 1946, and he received his High School education in Harar before deciding to move to Somalia.

News Keydmedia Online
26 April 2022

Abdi Hashi Abdullahi will serve as the Senate speaker for the next 4 years [Photo: Senate]

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Abdi Hashi Abdullahi was today re-elected as the Speaker of Somalia’s Senate during an election held at Afisyoni tent near Mogadishu airport.

Mr. Abdullahi garnered 28 votes, defeating his candidates Salah Jama, the current constitutional minister who won 24 votes while 3rd runner Osman Dubbe got 2 votes.

His victory means a major blow to Farmajo, the outgoing president, and his team in Villa Somalia who attempted to unseat him by backing his close contender, Jama.

Abdi Hashi who hails from northern regions [Somaliland] will lead the Upper house chamber of the Federal Parliament for the next four years.

Abdi Hashi was born in Babille in Ethiopia’s Oromia on December 1, 1946, and he received his High School education in Harar before deciding to move to Somalia.

Education

Bachelor in Politics – Somalia National University (JUS) Faculty of Politics

Somali Institute of Development and Management Science (SIDAM)

Bachelor of Economics – Somali National University- Faculty of Economics

Madahania-alam Secondary School – Harar

Career

Speaker of Somali Senate (Incumbent)

Minister of Heritage and Culture

Minister of Health, Transitional Federal Government of Somalia

Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Telecommunications

Member of Parliament Federal Parliament

Director of National Theatre

Director-General, Ministry of Information

Fierce critic

In the past few years, relations between Abdi Hashi and the country’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo strained and went to the lowest point after clashing over constitutional issues.

Hashi who hails from Somaliland accused Farmajo of undermining and disregarding the Senate which was established to represent the Federal States in the Somali central government based in Mogadishu.  

He also blamed the president for subverting the election process after unilaterally appointing the committee entrusted to oversee the election for northern MPs in line with the provisional constitution.

According to Hashi, Villa Somalia has worked closely with the Lower House of parliament and minimized the Senate’s tasks to debate and approve any bill from the cabinet before going to the president’s office for signing it into law.

In Somalia through the current clan power-sharing system [4.5], four big clans and other minority tribes will choose members of parliament that will decide on the country’s next head of state.

The Senate speaker said Somalia needs free and fair elections in which results are accepted by all citizens, like in previous transparent poll processes, with the winner supported by the whole political spectrum.

But the country has missed three deadlines to go to the polls since last year due to a deadlock over the electoral process between the Federal Government and the heads of the five regional administrations.

The president whose term ends in 5 days faces pressure and was accused of bypassing the electoral law by stacking the poll body with his allies, intelligence agents, and civil servants to rig the next election.

The committee coordinates the parliamentary elections before the presidential poll expected to be held on February 8 of this year despite fears it could be postponed to another six months due to the standoff.

KEYDMEDIA English