A political crisis in Somalia deepened on Monday as parliament voted against the president’s attempt to sack his prime minister as his enfeebled government struggles to cling power.
President Abdullahi Yusuf said on Sunday that he wanted to dismiss Nur Hassan Hussein, the prime minister, following a dispute over the creation of a new cabinet. But parliament, which would need to authorise his dismissal, voted on Monday to keep Mr Hussein in office.
The country’s interim government has never established any authority and is threatened by Islamist insurgents, pirates and the imminent withdrawal of its African military backers.
Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union commission, said late on Sunday the prime minister’s dismissal would undermine efforts to bring peace to Somalia, which has been decimated by nearly two decades of conflict.
“The chairperson ... urges [the president and prime minister] to overcome the internecine divisions that are consuming their energy, in order to meet the daunting challenges confronting their country,” said a statement from the AU.
Mr Yusuf, a former warlord, has clashed repeatedly with Mr Hussein, who was installed as prime minister in November 2007 to replace a predecessor who was also fired.
The president has prioritised security issues and displayed little interest in reconciliation with his foes. Mr Hussein, however, won praise from the west and UN for securing a peace deal in Djibouti in August with some of the government’s moderate Islamist enemies.
On the attempted sacking, Roger Middleton, a consultant researcher at Chatham House, a UK think-tank, said: “This has the hallmarks of a last desperate attempt by the president to claw back his position and something for himself. But I can’t see it working.”
A surge in piracy off the Somali coast has drawn international attention back to the country but Islamists have seized control of most of south and central Somalia and Ethiopia is preparing to withdraw troops it had sent to protect the enfeebled interim government.
The Ethiopian withdrawal before the end of this year could leave the government fatally exposed to Islamist hardliners who continue to attack it, including the al-Shabaab group said by the US to be linked to al-Qaeda.
Mr Middleton said that threat was preoccupying the president. “If you have a new prime minister who is less likely to compromise, then it makes it harder to achieve a diplomatic or political solution. Perhaps his calculation is that the international community would then have to support him militarily,” he said.
Mr Yusuf’s government and Addis Ababa have urged the deployment of a UN “stabilisation” force in Somalia to take over from the Ethiopians and ill-equipped African Union troops.
The UN Security Council is due to debate Somalia and piracy on Tuesday but diplomats said there was little hope that it would send a UN military force to the country. Some also express doubt over whether Ethiopia will withdraw.
One western diplomat who follows Somalia said donors had told the president previously: “If he sacks the prime minister and destroys the Djibouti [peace] agreement then the international community will reconsider its support, perhaps focusing only on humanitarian aid.”
Somalia's  overwhelmingly voted Monday to keep  as their prime minister, blocking President 's attempt at dismissing the prime minister and his "corrupt, inefficient" government.

President Yusuf announced his motion to dismiss Hussein on Sunday, saying his government was "unable to perform its duties" in matters such as dealing with the Islamic militants who have taken over most of the country. The latest dispute between the two involved efforts to reconcile with the  (ARS), the country's main opposition group. The UN-sponsored peace process has been decried by Yusuf as dealing with terrorists.

Hussein countered that the president had no authority to strip the prime minister of his post, and that the transitional federal charter required the approval of parliament for such an action. "The president was speaking in his usual personal capacity, contrary to the rules and regulations," Hussein said prior to the special parliamentary session in .

Despite Yusuf's hope that the parliament would endorse his decision, members of parliament were strongly supportive of Hussein's government, with 143 members recognizing the government's legitimacy, 20 rejecting its legitimacy and 7 abstaining. "Therefore the government of Hassan Hussein is legitimate," said , the parliamentary speaker.

Hussein, whom Yusuf appointed little more than a year ago after the resignation of , had previously survived a  in September, when he faced accusations of embezzling state funds. 

"The only obstacle in front of my government was the president," Hussein told members of parliament after the vote, "and since I have the confidence of the MPs I hope it will be effective henceforth." Yusuf had no immediate comment on the vote, but he had previously stated he would comply with parliament's decision if they chose to block his dismissal.

The relationship between the president and prime minister has grown increasingly strained over the issue of Islamic militancy. Yusuf has blamed the prime minister for the instability plaguing the politically fragile state, while Hussein has accused the president of trying to "sabotage" peace efforts between the transitional government and the ARS. Fighting between the Islamic opposition and Somali-backed troops from Ethiopia, the African Union, and the UN has killed thousands of Somalis and displaced millions.

, chairman of the , said the dispute within the transitional government has the potential of undermining efforts for "further reconciliation, peace, and stability in Somalia." The UN also issued a statement condemning the dispute, and demonstrators gathered in the streets of Mogadishu to denounce the president's move.

Although moderate Islamists from the ARS have agreed to enter into reconciliation talks, hardliner insurgents have rejected the attempts at peace and continue to take over towns in the central and northern regions of Somalia. Since the fall of the , organizations like Al-Shabaab have become leading insurgent groups. A spokesman for Al-Shabaab told reporters on Sunday that they intend to impose Sharia law on all of Somalia, and that a peace deal would never be accepted.