By The Star Staff Writer
Somalia’s former leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has won a decisive victory over incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmajo” in a crucial race whose outcome would likely determine the future direction of Somalia, where two main forces – centralists and federalists – are battling it out.
Mohamud, whose campaign promises included forming an inclusive government, uniting the Somali people and pursuing a policy of an open economy, secured 214 votes against Farmajo’s 110 after three rounds of energy-sapping voting. The victor was quickly sworn in and he has vowed that there would be “no revenge, no witch-hunting based on politics.”
“As I have repeatedly said before, our country needs to move forward, not backward,” said Mohamud, who ran the country between 2012 and 2017, in his victory speech, as Farmajo stood by his right side.
He urged Somalis to start over with a clean slate despite “painful” past memories.
“Let’s forgive each other and clean our hearts,” the new president said. “Let’s think of tomorrow and not busy ourselves with what has happened yesterday.”
President Farmajo conceded defeat, thanked his supporters and welcomed Mohamud to what he called a “difficult job.”
“I want to welcome my brother, the new President, Hassan Sheikh, and I say ‘congratulations’,” said the outgoing president. “We pray to Allah to make this difficult job easy for him. It’s a very, very difficult job. It’s not an easy job. Let’s all pray to Allah to make this job easy for him. We will all show solidarity, collaboration and hospitality to him.”
Farmajo’s defeat was a stunning reversal of fortune for a leader who used nationalism as a rallying cry during his more than five years in power. In the first round, he appeared to have had a good chance to win reelection, especially after former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a strong and once popular candidate, failed to move into the second round.
But his chance evaporated in the final round, when a majority of the votes that supported former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and others from the southern and northeastern regions of Jubaland and Puntland went to Mohamud.
Mohamud was magnanimous in victory, calling Farmajo a “brother” and thanked him for handing power to him, as he himself did in 2017, when he lost to Farmajo. Mohamud said Sunday night was “one of the days when history is made in our country, Somalia.”
“We will work toward a beautiful tomorrow, toward a beautiful future and toward a beautiful and respected people and country in the world,” the new president said. “I will realize the slogan of “a Somalia at peace with itself and at peace with the world.”
The poor showing of former President Ahmed, who has scrapped by 39 votes in the first round, insufficient to allow him to go into the second round, has surprised many who believed that he was the one to beat Farmajo, given his huge war chest and appeal to many lawmakers.
The result of the first round announced by Parliament Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nuur “Madobe” on live broadcast revealed that lawmakers had scattered their votes among several contenders, a strategy that was initially thought to benefit President Farmajo’s bid for reelection.
The elevation of Said Abdullahi Dani, the chief administrator of the northeastern region of Puntland, to the second round with 65 votes, has somewhat diluted former President Mohamud’s chance, while giving the incumbent an opening to qualify for the third round.
The exercise was so tedious that the 328 lawmakers present have to cast their ballots in a back-to-back three rounds that only ended before midnight Sunday. A winner for the first round was required to get a two-thirds majority of the total votes cast by lawmakers from the two houses of parliament, or 219 votes. None of the candidates managed to clear that threshold.
The four candidates, who faced off against each other in the second round, were: President Farmajo, Dani, former Prime Minister Khaire and former President Mohamud. All fell short of the 219 votes needed to win in the second round. former President Mohamud led with 110 votes, up 58 votes from the first round. He was followed by the incumbent with 83, up 24 votes from the first round. Dani got 68 votes in the second round, just up 3 votes from the first round. former Prime Minister Khaire increased his tally to 63, up 16 votes from the first round.
The vote was happening amid a tight security and huge interest by ordinary Somalis who themselves have no say on who would lead their strategically located nation, haltingly emerging from decades of war, terrorism, famines and unhelpful foreign interference.
The vote was delayed by more than a year as a result of political bickering between President Farmajo and Prime Minister.Mohamed Hussein Roble. Farmajo and his successor Mohamud have different worldviews on how how best Somalia’s can be governed, with the former advocating a central system in Somalia, while the latter supports a federal one.
During his tenure, President President Farmajo has worked hard to chip away at the federal system, which many Somalis believe was imposed by foreign countries bent on disintegrating their country into weak, clan-based fiefdoms. Somalia is tentatively a federal country, but the system is yet to be subjected to popular vote.
Sunday’s presidential vote has been peaceful. Minutes after President Farmajo arrived at the tent, where lawmakers were to cast their ballots, his director of communications, Abdirashid M. Hashi, tweeted that “Somalia shall witness peaceful elections which shall end with huge victory for the Somali people & continuity of reforms.”
Lawmakers were briefly entertained by a Somali song, whose lyrics included “Parliament, fulfill your promise” and “Parliament, fullfill your duty.”
An unwieldy phalanx of 36 candidates, including the incumbent, two former presidents and a former prime minister, ran for the top seat. Three more candidates have withdrawn from the race, even after forking over a US$40,000 registration fee.