Former Somali prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was elected president Wednesday Feb 08,2017 after incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud admitted defeat in a second round of voting by lawmakers.
"This is the beginning of unity for the Somali nation, the beginning of the fight against Shabaab and corruption ..." a triumphant Farmajo said after being declared the winner in a long, drawn-out election process in the conflict-wracked nation.
After six hours and two rounds of voting, Farmajo failed to win the required two thirds majority, but had 184 votes to Mohamud's 97, prompting the incumbent to drop out of a third round
Farmajo, 55, is a father of four who holds joint American and Somali citizenship.
He served as prime minister for only eight months between 2010 and 2011 and was ousted before he had a chance to prove himself in a deal to form a new government and postpone elections that year.
Note
Note
Somalia's MPs are electing the country's president in a heavily guarded aircraft hangar in Mogadishu, as the rest of the country is not safe.
The election hall, a converted aircraft hangar packed with MPs, is at the Mogadishu international airport complex.
The vote was moved to the airport complex from a police academy because of growing fears that al-Shabab could strike.
The 2012 presidential vote was held at the academy, and the 2007 and 2004 vote in neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti respectively.
Traffic has been banned, schools have been shut and a no-fly zone imposed over the capital to prevent attacks.
Despite this, suspected militant Islamists fired mortar rounds close to the venue on Tuesday night.
Somalia, marred by religious and clan conflict, has not had a one-person one-vote democratic election since 1969.
That vote was followed by a coup, dictatorship and conflict involving clan militias and Islamist extremists.
The elections are part of a lengthy and complex process to help the East African state rebuild its democracy and achieve stability.
More than 20,000 African Union (AU) troops are stationed in Somalia to prevent militant Islamist group al-Shabab from overthrowing the weak government.
Who is running?
About 20 men ran for the presidency, but the number has been reduced to four after the first round of voting.
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.
All went into the second round of voting.
The second round is under way, and the top two will battle it out in a third and final vote.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is standing for re-election and he has gone through to the second round.
At least 16 of the original candidates have dual citizenship - nine of them hold US passports, four UK passports and three Canadian passports
Electoral System
The legislators voting — 275 members of the lower legislative house and 54 senators — were selected by the country's powerful, intricate network of clans
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