Robow’s fate sealed as name struck out of ballot

The fate of former Al-Shabaab number two to run for public office and hopefully becoming state president about five years since he fell out with the militant group is now sealed after the South West elections committee said Robow’s name will not be appearing in the ballot paper after all.

A committee member who did not want to be named told Goobjoog News the committee had no option but to leave Robow out despite having met all the requirements and cleared to contest in the December 19 poll.

“We cannot include his (Robow’s) name in the ballot since he is not here. He is under arrest. However he passed through all the stages and we cleared him to contest,” the official said.

That was further affirmed this morning given the number of candidates set to address the state assembly as they pitch their proposals for election. Only three candidates-Adnan Mohamed Nur (Saransoor), Hussein Osman Hussein and Ibrahim Moalin Nunow are set to address the state assembly today while Abdiasis Lafta Green, the preferred choice of the Federal Government will speak tomorrow.

The announcement now paves the way for the Federal Government’s choice-though a hard sale but the exit of Robow and a war chest from Mogadishu could easily secure him a win. The removal of Robow’s name and his banishing from the political scene for now fits wells within a scheme orchestrated by functionaries in the Federal Government in the past few weeks.

For the FGS, Robow’s dramatic arrest Thursday and transfer to Mogadishu by Ethiopian forces was no sure guarantee of locking him out. There was fear Robow would still be elected in absentia should his name be in the ballot, a political observer said. To seal that loophole, the elections committee had to be cajoled to strike out his name, the source said.

Seemingly a choice for the Federal Government at the beginning, Robow seems to have fallen out of favour with mandarins in government who saw his candidacy as a threat to the politics of submission which have been the hallmark of Villa Somalia in the last two years.

With ex-president Sharif Sheikh Adan out of way, Galmudug in no good shape to offer any challenge, Puntland’s Abdiweli Gaas in survival mode and HirShabelle now an extension of the Federal Government, the FGS seems to, for now have succeeded in taming any discontent.

Reports indicate Robow is to address the media shortly.