Somalia’s presidential election has begun at the Afsiyone Tent in Mogadishu, with more than 30 candidates vying for the presidency.
Candidates include incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and former presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
The chairman of the electoral commission recently announced that Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle and Hussein Abdi Nunow have dropped out of the race. Former presidential candidates Abdikarin Hussein Guled, Dahir Mohamud Geele, and Abdinasir Abdulle are also absent.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives opened the election, announcing the presence of 329 members of the House of Representatives and the Upper House.
In the second round of the election, the four candidates with the most votes will advance. If the fourth and fifth candidates have the same vote, they will both advance to the second round.
The candidate who receives two-thirds of the votes in the second round wins the presidential election. If this does not happen, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the final round.
In the last round, there will be a split vote, with the candidate with the most votes winning the presidency.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), part of the ATMIS operation, is securing the polling station with the help of the Somali Police Force.
The vote, which has been delayed for more than a year due to political infighting, was due to take place later this month in a bid to secure a further $ 400 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Somali government.
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