Somali premier in confidence vote

President Yusuf (l) and Prime Minister Ghedi (r) are from rival clans

Somalia's new President Abdullahi Yusuf has re-appointed his prime minister, just days after parliament passed a vote of no confidence in him.

The move may placate the MPs, as they now have the opportunity to approve Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi.

Mr Ghedi was accused of not sticking to clan-based quotas in his cabinet but President Abdullahi Yusuf told the MPS they could not all be ministers.

Somalia has been without a functioning national government for 13 years.

"The real crucial issue is the name should be first submitted to parliament," Bethwel Kiplagat, chief mediator for the Somalia talks, told the BBC's Focus on Africa.

"We have to wait and see what parliament does with that name."

Fiefdoms

During the past 13 years, rival warlords have battled for control of the country and Somalia has been divided into a patchwork of fiefdoms.

If we are not serious about making a functioning government, let us go home without disturbing the international community, which funded the two years of peace talks President Abdullahi Yusuf

All the major warlords are involved in the two-year peace process in neighbouring Kenya which led to Mr Yusuf's election, raising hopes that Somalia could soon return to normal.

Correspondents had praised the choice of Mr Ali as prime minister, as the academic comes from a rival clan to Mr Yusuf, the Hawiye, which controls the capital, Mogadishu.

He has not been involved with the factional fighting if the past 13 years.

Last week, a minister and five deputy ministers resigned from the government saying the cabinet was too large and not representative.

It is expected that Mr Ghedi will make some changes to his cabinet line-up before the whole team is put to a vote of confidence in parliament.

Mr Yusuf told the MPs they had to take seriously what is seen as the best chance in 13 years to form a government.

"It is up to you to take it seriously or as a joke. I am telling that all of you cannot be ministers or deputy ministers," he said.

Facts and figures about life in Somalia

At-a-glance

"If we are not serious about making a functioning government, let us go home without disturbing the international community, which funded the two years of peace talks."

At the peace process, the four major clans were given an equal number of MPs, with a minor clans together getting half the number of seats.

No date has been set for the new Somali government to return to the capital, Mogadishu, which is divided between rival warlords.