Down to 3 in Somalia’s landmark ballot
Print Edition
SOMALIA’S groundbreaking presidential election moved into a second round yesterday as the number of candidates dropped from 21 to three, while a security lockdown closed the capital’s international airport and cleared major streets.
Incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held a slight lead over former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, 88 votes to 72. Former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was third with 49, and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke was fourth with 37.
But Sharmarke then dropped out of the race, saying: “I know where this is heading to.”
With at least one of the remaining candidates having dual citizenship, Somalia could end up with a president who also holds a US passport, Farmajo.
The Horn of Africa nation is trying to put together its first fully functioning central government in a quarter of a century. Years of warlord-led conflict and al-Shabab extremist attacks, along with famine, have left the country of about 12 million people largely shattered.
Members of the upper and lower houses of the legislature dropped their ballots into clear boxes at the heavily guarded election venue, a former air force base in the capital, Mogadishu. Fears of al-Shabab attacks limited the election to lawmakers instead of the population at large. The voting was being streamed online.
Across Mogadishu, Somalis gathered around the TV screens in cafes and in their homes, eagerly watching the vote.
“I hope they will not choose bribes over the interest of the people.” said Ahmed Hassan, a 26-year-old university student. “We need an honest leader who can help us move forward.”
Somalia’s instability landed it among the seven Muslim-majority countries affected by President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, even though its government has been an increasingly important partner for the US military on counterterrorism efforts, including drone strikes against al-Shabab leaders.
In a sign of the dangers that remain in Mogadishu, two mortar rounds fired by suspected extremists late on Tuesday hit near the election venue.
While the international community has pushed Somalia to hold the election as a symbol of strength, the vote has been marred by reports of widespread corruption.
The legislators voting — 275 members of the lower legislative house and 54 senators — were selected by the country’s powerful, intricate network of clans.
Weeks ago, a statement by the UN, the US, the EU and others warned of “egregious cases of abuse of the electoral process.”
With reports of votes being sold for up to US$30,000 each, “this is probably the most expensive election, per vote, in history,” the Mogadishu-based anti-corruption group Marqaati said in a report that it released on Tuesday.
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