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Somali lawmakers go to 3rd round to choose next president

MOGADISHU, Somalia –

Somalia’s presidential vote is moving to its third round on Sunday, with the incumbent leader facing off against a former president.

Lawmakers are choosing the country’s next president in the capital, Mogadishu, where lockdown measures are in place to prevent deadly attacks by militants.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and his predecessor Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will now contest a third round of voting decided by 328 lawmakers. The field was removed from a long list of 36 names in the first round of voting.

A simple majority is enough to pick a winner in the third round.

Analysts predict that Mohamed – who is also known as Farmaajo because of his craving for Italian cheese – will face an uphill battle for re-election. No incumbent president has ever won re-election in the Horn of Africa country, where rival clans vie for political power increasingly fiercely.

While Mohamed has made it to the third and final round, he is expected to face a strong challenge from his predecessor, Mohamud.

Voting is taking place inside the tent of an airport hangar in the Halane military camp, guarded by African Union peacekeepers.

To prevent extremist violence from disrupting the elections, Somali police placed Mogadishu, the scene of frequent attacks by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, in a crackdown that began at 9 p.m. Saturday. According to police, that means most residents have to stay home until the lockdown works Monday morning.

Police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan said: “Moving activities are completely banned, including traffic, businesses, schools and even people.

The goal of a direct, one-man, one-vote election in Somalia, a country of about 12 million people, remains largely elusive because of widespread extremist violence. Authorities had planned for a direct election this time, but the federal and state governments instead agreed to another “indirect election,” with lawmakers being elected. by community leaders – representatives of powerful clans – in each member state.

“We urge MPs to vote according to their conscience by choosing the candidate they believe will deliver the policies and leadership qualities to promote peace, stability, prosperity and good governance.” in the coming years,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia and others in the international community said in a statement late Saturday.

Despite persistent insecurity, Somalia has had peaceful leadership changes every four years since 2000, and it has the distinction of being Africa’s first democratically elected president to step down. peacefully, Aden Abdulle Osman in 1967.

Mohamed’s four-year term expires in February 2021, but he remains in office after the lower house approved a two-year extension of his duties and that of the federal government, drawing outrage from political leaders. Senate leadership and criticism from the international community.

The poll’s delay sparked a gun exchange in April 2021 between soldiers loyal to the government and others angered by what they see as an unlawful extension of the president. system for its duties.

Somalia began to fall apart in 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned against each other. Years of conflict and al-Shabab attacks, coupled with famine, have torn apart the country’s long, strategic coastline by the Indian Ocean.

Ordinary Somalis are waiting for Sunday’s election results with heavy breathing.

“Today is a historic day that will determine who will govern the country for the next four years. We pray for a president who can lead Somalia out of its current state towards a promising future and prosperity,” said Abdi Mohamed, a resident of Mogadishu. “Allah knows best and we ask for his guidance and mercy.”

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