There has been a long line of systematic failures from the international community to solve the long-standing political impasse in Somalia and in the Horn of Africa.

The political history of Somalia is a sordid affair. A long, painful, and ruthless civil war has ravaged this country for the better part of three decades and, today, the fact remains that the only way to wedge Somalia out of the snarl it finds itself in is by the immediate resignation of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

On December 25, Somalia’s president provided a hint that he may, once again, be seeking to claim authority by accusing Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble of electoral malpractice, neglecting to mention in his various statements, of course, that behind the scenes he has been gaming the system to ensure that he can remain in power.

Somalis recognize that the international community must stop enabling the Somali president.

According to recent UN projections, close to 8 million Somalis will require humanitarian assistance in the coming months. On the president’s watch, climate and health disasters continue to devastate the country, so much so that, on November 23, the government declared a humanitarian state of emergency because of devastating droughts.

Somalis are suffering. Climate emergencies, the pandemic, ongoing terrorist violence, and humanitarian crises have crippled a country already on the brink of economic ruin. And the one thing in common throughout each of these disastrous events has been the ruinous leadership of the Somali president.

Somalia is teetering on the brink of a major breakdown once again. The latest election standoff highlights how, if left unresolved, has the potential to return the country to civil conflict, undoing fragile gains made over the past decade and a half.

The people of Somalia call for a moratorium today. We demand that the international community intervene. The Somali president has no constitutional mandate to represent the people of Somalia and the people of Somalia would very much like to keep it that way.