The Somali parliament will meet on Sunday to elect a new president for the country. The result could, in the worst case scenario, plunge Somalia into violence if the losers do not admit their defeat.
Somalia’s presidential election has been delayed for more than a year. Due to the controversy caused by the elections, Somalia was already on the brink of civil war early last year.
‘s African correspondent Pasi Toivonen lists seven points from the Somali election.
1. Somalis will not vote
The president is elected by 329 members of Somalia’s newly elected parliament. They have been elected from six states, but in them too the election was not a popular election, but parliamentarians were elected at meetings of the elders and local authorities of the clans. Somalia last held direct elections in 1969.
2. Sound has a price
Somalia’s electoral system is highly vulnerable to corruption. There is no definite information about the purchase of parliamentary seats, but for example, the former project manager of the International Crisis Group Rashid Abdi estimates in his tweet the price of one vote in the presidential election is $ 300,000. The largest election financiers are reportedly Qatar and Turkey, which otherwise have a strong influence in Somali politics.
3. The president is elected in a tent at the airport
The Somali Parliament is meeting to elect a president for a tent set up in the security zone at Mogadishu Airport. The Houses of Parliament are considered too dangerous a place because the Islamist terrorist organization al-Shabaab has stepped up its operations in the capital, Mogadishu, during the elections. Admittedly, al-Shabaab has extended its strikes in recent weeks also to the airport area (you switch to another service).
4. 39 presidential candidates
The presidential candidate must be a citizen, Muslim and 40 years old in Somalia. There can be no empty pocket, as on Monday, Parliament’s Election Committee announced that each candidate must pay a $ 40,000 registration fee before the election.
Still, there are still 39 presidential candidates in the race. Among them are the sitting president, among others Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamedtwo former presidents, one former prime minister and one female candidate, Fowsiya Yusuf. On Sunday, ten, then four, then two candidates will be eliminated – and possibly only in the fourth round of voting will it be clear who will be the tenth president in Somalia.
5. The President put an end to the holding of elections
The election was due in February last year. The incumbent president then wanted a two-year extension for himself and has held back the election. Somalia has already been on the brink of a new civil war due to the election dispute, with the army, security services and police forces splitting up supporters of the president and prime minister.
6. The IMF decided on the date of the election?
The election might not have been possible without the intervention of the International Monetary Fund. It announced in February that if the president is not elected by May 17, it will suspend its aid program to the Somali government. This would mean that the Somali federation would run into payment difficulties and might not be able to pay the salaries of, for example, civil servants and soldiers.
7. The price of assault rifles is rising
What is crucial in the election is whether the losing candidates admit their defeat. If this does not happen, the country may deviate into a new cycle of violence. The New Humanitarian news agency has found out (you are moving to another service)that the price of the AK47 assault rifle in the Mogadishu arms market has risen by tens of per cent in recent months, reflecting increased demand. Somalis want peace but are preparing for a worse option.
You can discuss this topic until Sunday, May 15 at 11 p.m. By then, Somalia’s new president should be known.