Somalia elects Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as new president

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who served as Somalia’s president between 2012 and 2017, has been reelected as the country’s 10th president.

“Victory belongs to Somali people, and this is the beginning of the era of unity, the democracy of Somalia and the beginning of the fight against corruption,” Mohamud said after winning the vote.

The first round of voting was contested by 36 aspirants, four of whom proceeded to the second round. With no candidate winning at least two-thirds of the 328 ballots, voting then went into a third round where a simple majority was enough to pick the winner.

Celebratory gunfire erupted in the capital Mogadishu, with many hoping that the vote will draw a line under a political crisis that has lasted well over a year, after Farmajo’s term ended in February 2021 without an election.