Somalia gearing up for presidential election

Press TV
Sunday, August 26, 2012

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An eight year old Transitional administration in Somalia was officially set to end on 20th August but so far there have been neither elections of the Somali parliament speaker nor that of the Somali president.

All this as campaigns for presidency is gearing up in the war torn capital Mogadishu despite no clear date set for the elections.

“This year’s election has witnessed the largest number of candidates in the nation’s history. The election is set to be held in Somali soil for the first time in two decades.”

Analysts say that Somalis during this year's election expect to see new faces and educated people with majority youth and public support gain power so that issues like illiteracy and poverty may be best addressed.

Outgoing Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a Harvard-educated technocrat Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the outgoing Somali parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, and a former Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo are perceived by many as the top four candidates for the Somali presidency.

However analysts say that the hopes of these four leaders from clinching the presidency has been reduced following the release of a controversial report in early July by United Nations Monitoring Group alleging that around 70% of money intended for development and reconstruction of Somalia was unaccounted for.

The International Crisis Group in a press statement earlier this week said that the current political process in Somalia has been as undemocratic as the one it seeks to replace, with unprecedented levels of political interference, corruption, and intimidation in regards to the MPs selection process.

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