Status: 05/16/2022 00:33
The representatives of the East African crisis country have elected ex-President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new head of state with a clear majority. He prevailed against the incumbent.
The crisis-ridden country of Somalia has a new head of state: Former President Hassan Sheik Mohamud has been re-elected as the new head of state for the East African country. The 66-year-old politician defeated 35 candidates, including incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed, in the election for the highest office in the state.
Without the successful election of a head of state, an aid package from the International Monetary Fund amounting to 400 million dollars (384 million euros) would have expired automatically on Tuesday. Sheikh Mohamud was President of Somalia from 2012 to 2017.
Fragile security situation
The Somali head of state is not chosen by the people, but according to a complex indirect system: representatives of the states and clans elect the members of parliament, who in turn choose the president. The vote took place under tight security in a hangar at the airport in the capital, Mogadishu.
In the country on the Horn of Africa, which has repeatedly been shaken by violence and attacks by the Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabaab, the president was elected in an indirect election by the 275 members of parliament and 54 representatives of the Senate.
Explosions were heard near the airport at the beginning of the hour-long election process. No casualties were reported, but the incidents highlighted the fragile security situation in Somalia.
Enormous challenges
Enormous challenges await Sheikh Mohamud: he not only has to fight the Islamist uprising, but also the consequences of a devastating drought. His predecessor’s term of office officially ended in February 2021. After the failure of political talks about the modalities of the presidential election and the members of the election commission, he extended his term of office despite heavy criticism.
This had sparked bloody street fighting in Mogadishu and further destabilized Somalia. Since then, there have been repeated tensions and conflicts between numerous interest groups.