Former Somali Leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Wins Presidency
Date
5/15/2022 10:22:56 PM
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
Former Somali leader Hassan sheikh Mohamud won the presidency
again in voting by parliamentarians on Sunday in an airport hangar
protected by blast walls from insurgents whom he must now fight for
a second time, Trend reports citing Al
Arabiya .
The 66-year-old, who ruled from 2012 to 2017, reversed the
previous election to defeat incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi
Mohamed by 214-110 votes in a third-round runoff whose result was
confirmed around midnight.
“We have to move ahead, we do not need grudges. No avenging,”
Mohamud said in his acceptance speech from the airport compound in
the capital Mogadishu patrolled by African Union (AU)
peacekeepers.
Supporters defied a curfew to pour onto the streets of
Mogadishu, cheering and firing guns into the air.
The former education campaigner and peace activist faces a
daunting task in the nation of 15 million people which is suffering
its worst drought in four decades and has endured seemingly
never-ending conflict since 1991.
Though just holding the election was a success of sorts, many
Somalis were sceptical of any real improvement.
Most of the 36 candidates were old faces recycled from the past
who had done little to stem war and corruption, they complained.
Votes are anyway influenced more by money changing hands than
political platforms, Somalis and analysts say.
“Hassan Sheikh is not good but he is the lesser of the two
evils. We hope Somalia will be better,” said Halima Nur, a
mother-of-four in Mogadishu.
“We hope this time Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will improve and become
a better leader. We hope Somalia will be peaceful, though this may
take time,” said student Mohamed Ismail.
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