Hundreds of Somali parliamentarians will meet on Sunday in a heavily-fortified airport hangar to choose a new president in a vote needed to ensure the impoverished and conflict-riven nation keeps receiving foreign financial aid.
The vote has been delayed over-and-over due to squabbling within government but must be held this month for a $400 million International Monetary Fund programme to stay on track.
It takes place during the Horn of Africa nation's worst drought in four decades and against a depressingly familiar background of violence due to a war by Islamist rebels, infighting among security forces and clan rivalries. On Wednesday, a suicide bomb claimed by al Shabaab militants injured seven people during political rallies near the hangar where parliamentarians will gather. On Friday, fighters from a Sufi Muslim group battled government forces for the capital of Galmudug state.
Incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed — known as “Farmaajo” for his reputed love of Italian cheese — seems unlikely to win re-election after losing support in last month's parliamentary vote, analysts said.