Somalia’s incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud won the first round of a presidential election on Wednesday, but remained short of the two-thirds majority which would have avoided a second round.
The top four among a total of 21 candidates will go to a second round after the parliamentary vote, which was broadcast live on television. Mohamud took 89 votes.
The other frontrunners were former Premier Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, 72 votes; former President and moderate Islamist Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, 45 votes; and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, 35 votes.
The second round was expected to immediately follow the first round.
If no candidate gets enough votes in the second round, a third round will be held.
The president was elected by parliament, because the violence-plagued Horn of Africa country was not deemed safe enough, nor its electoral infrastructure sufficient, to allow all eligible citizens to vote.
A member of the electoral commission, who did not want to be named, said that the election venue was moved from the initially planned police academy to Mogadishu airport because of the security threat posed by the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab.
The police academy was also not regarded as a suitable venue because a police chief had expressed support for Mohamud, sparking concerns over fraud, said an opposition candidate, who also asked not to be identified.
The parliamentary elections late last year did not give every eligible citizen a vote, partly because of security concerns.
The 275 members of the Lower House were chosen by electoral colleges, and 54 Upper House members by state assemblies.
The presidential election was taking place under heavy security, with traffic and flights banned and soldiers patrolling the capital.
In the morning, suspected al-Shabaab militants attacked a hotel in the northern port city of Bosaso and were repelled by security forces.
Four hotel guards and two militants were killed, regional officials said.
On Tuesday evening, suspected al-Shabaab militants fired mortars in Mogadishu, reportedly injuring five people.
The presidential election is seen as important step for Somalia, which fell into chaos following the collapse of the dictatorship of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, and which is now gradually consolidating its fledgling democracy.
The new president and parliament will face the challenges of diversifying an economy still largely dependent on livestock and money transfers from Somalis living abroad, and – above all – defeating al-Shabaab.
The group’s decade-long battle against the government, backed by African Union troops, has claimed thousands of lives.
Al-Shabaab has frequently targeted government buildings and hotels in Mogadishu.
(Source: NAN)