Somalia’s 1960s political crisis was resolved constitutionally without any military intervention

Evidence

The crisis emphasized again, if we need reminding, how critical in Somali politics is the role of the president of the republic. Aden [Osman] gave the full authority of his office in support of those who believed a government crisis at this time was not in the best interest of the Republic. He reacted neither precipitously nor thoughtlessly, but when he called for Abdirazak [Hussen] to withdraw his resignation, his request was so phrased that any Somali would have been hard pressed to refuse him. Aden may not consider himself indispensible, but he is a rare breed, here or anywhere… . [T]he government crisis offered an insight into the core of Somali political Life… . [T]hroughout the crisis the search for a solution was made in responsible, constitutional terms. No responsible Somali proposed a deus ex machina by the Police or Army to straighten the mess. The gut strength of the democratic process was so taken for granted during the crisis that even the most critical local pundits had not considered this aspect worthy of comment. We are required to admit again that despite the peregrinations of political life in Somalia, its parliamentary institutions and procedures appear soundly based and the democratic way indeed a way of life. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 897

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s research purpose of narrating Somalia’s pre-1969 democratic history — the resilience of parliamentary institutions before the 1969 coup.
• QUESTION: Useful benchmark: at this 1960s moment even critics never floated army intervention — worth comparing with how quickly the military option did surface by 1969 when Barre seized power.