MOGADISHU: Somalia’s international partners on Monday welcomed the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who takes office after months of political instability and faces crises including a violent insurgency and devastating drought.
Residents in Mogadishu raced through the streets banging metal cans and fired guns into the air in celebration as the result of the marathon poll was announced around midnight.
Many hope the vote — which concluded peacefully but was dogged by claims of irregularities — will draw a line under a political crisis that has lasted well over a year.
Outgoing President Mohammed Abdullahi Mohamed’s term ended in February 2021 without an election and the protracted tussle for power that followed turned violent at times and caused divisions at the highest levels of government.
Somalia’s international partners had repeatedly warned the election delays were a dangerous distraction from the fight against Al-Shabab terrorists, who have been trying to overthrow the government for over a decade.
On Monday, the UK’s minister for Africa congratulated Mohamud, who ruled Somalia between 2012 and 2017, and is the first president to win a second term in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
The UK “looks forward to continuing its close work to support on building stability, tackling Al-Shabab and supporting those affected by the devastating drought,” Minister Vicky Ford tweeted.
Mohamud has promised to transform Somalia into “a peaceful country that is at peace with the world.”
The East African regional bloc IGAD said Mohamud’s victory was “a clear testimony of the trust and confidence that the people of Somalia have in his leadership qualities.”
