Somalia elects new president in rare vote By Yara Bayoumy

byNnaemeka Ali, O.M.I
-September 10, 2012

One of the African Countries here peace and other has lost its real
meaning, Somalia, has just elected a new President, Hassan Sheikh
Mohamu. This is an opportunity for Somali and Somalians to prove their
desire for a long lasting peace. From all indications, he might make a
good President.. Here is what The Star online reports about this historic election.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia’s lawmakers voted overwhelmingly
on Monday for political newcomer Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to be the
country’s next president, with the streets of the capital erupting into
celebratory gunfire.

Somalia’s
newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud waves at the podium after
winning the election, in Mogadishu September 10, 2012. Somalia’s
lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Monday for political newcomer Mohamud
to be the country’s next president, with the streets of the capital
erupting into celebratory gunfire. REUTERS/Omar Faruk

The
country’s lawmakers were voting in the first poll of its kind in
decades. The vote was billed by the United Nations as a milestone in the
war-ravaged country’s quest to end more than 20 years of violence,
graft and clan feuds.

Mohamud, seen as a moderate, unexpectedly
defeated incumbent President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed after two the four
candidates who made it to the second round of voting opted out.

One
of them, outgoing Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali who threw his
weight behind Mohamud’s candidacy, said the result heralded a new era
for Somali politics.

“Somalia voted for change,” Ali told Reuters, adding it was too early to say if he would take part in the new administration.

There
has been no effective central government control over most of the
largely lawless country since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.

Monday’s
vote was seen as a culmination of a regionally brokered and U.N.-backed
roadmap to end that conflict, during which tens of thousands were
killed and many more fled.

The capital, which until last year
witnessed street battles between al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants
and African soldiers, is now a vibrant city, where reconstructed houses
are slowly replacing bullet-riddled structures.

But despite being
on the backfoot, the militants still control swathes of southern and
central Somalia, while pirates, regional administrations and local
militia group also vie for control chunks of the largely lawless Horn of
Africa country.

The outgoing president conceded defeat after the
onlookers in the hall where the vote was held spontaneously stood up
and sang the national anthem.

Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle, director of
the Centre of Research and Dialogue, a local non governmental
organisation where Mohamud worked for eight years, said the result
highlighted Ahmed’s failure to quash the Islamist insurgency and improve
living standards.

“He is benefiting from the fallout over Ahmed. This vote shows that the Somali people were yearning for change,” Abdulle said.

“His emphasis will be on institution-building and reconciliation. His biggest challenge will be the expectations of the people.”

Touching a Koran with his right hand, Mohamud was sworn in as president within minutes of his poll victory.

Somalia’s
president heads the executive while the speaker of parliament is
considered the country’s most powerful politician and steps in if the
president is unable to fulfil his duties.

D-DAY FOR SOMALIA

“It’s
D-day for Somalia,” lawmaker Abdirahim Abdi had said of the election in
which more than two dozen candidates ran. “It’s a turning point for
Somalia and everyone’s been waiting for it.”

Members of
parliament marked their ballot papers behind a curtain before casting
them in a clear box in front of foreign envoys and hundreds of Somali
men and women as well as being broadcast live on television.

“Any
elected president must cope with security first, then the
reconstruction of social infrastructure, resettling the numerous
(refugees) around the country and the liberation of the rest of the
country from al Shabaab,” said student Bashir Ali Abdikadir.

Mohamud will also have to tackle Somalia’s reputation as the most corrupt country in the world.

In
July, a U.N. Somalia monitoring group report said it had found that out
of every $10 in revenue raised between 2009-2010 $7 had never made it
into state coffers.

Despite the possibility that the entire
process of selecting a new parliament whose members then elected the new
president may have been flawed after allegations from a diplomatic
source that lawmakers were being offered bribes, many Somalis were
elated their country was holding an election of sorts.

“It’s
something we have to witness and be a part of, even if we’re not voting.
We’ve been through a very difficult labour and we’re finally giving
birth,” said Najmah Ahmed Abdi, who runs a Somali youth forum.

“The
(lawmakers) have a momentous responsibility on their shoulders.
Tomorrow will be like when U.S. President Barack Obama was elected. We
hope we get our own Obama.”