2017 Somali presidential election
8 February 2017
 
Nominee Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
Party TPP PDP Independent
Electoral vote 184 97 45
Percentage 56.44% 29.75% 13.80%
President before election

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
PDP

 Elected President

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
TPP

Indirect presidential elections were held in Somalia on 8 February 2017. Members of parliament elected in the autumn-2016 parliamentary election elected former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to the post of President of Somalia for a four-year term.

The presidential elections had been planned for August 2016 and promised to be a one-person, one-vote national poll, but had been postponed several times and shifted to an electoral college system due to security concerns. On 26 January 2017, the election was set for 8 February, with candidates required to register by 29 January.[1] The election was held in an airport hangar at Aden Adde International Airport, Mogadishu.[2]

Mohamed was declared president in a peaceful transition of power after incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud conceded defeat and congratulated the victor.[3]

Security

Due to the ongoing civil war, security for the ballot was a significant concern. The vote was initially planned to be held at a Mogadishu police academy but was moved to the more secure Aden Adde International Airport, considered as the safest place in Somalia's Capital. On the voting day, traffic was banned in the city, schools were closed and flights to and from the airport were suspended.[4]

Electoral system

In the previous presidential election in 2012, the president was elected by a parliament that had been picked by 135 elders. Plans in 2016–2017 for a full election involving all adult Somalis were scrapped due to security concerns relating to the ongoing civil war.[5] The election costs were 60% funded by donor countries in Europe, the United States and Japan, with the remainder from the Somali government and candidate registration fees.[6]

The president was elected by the 328 members of the Lower House and Upper House of the Somali Parliament. The Parliament's members were elected in the 2016 parliamentary election which itself was limited to 14,025 clan elder-appointed delegates.[7] The election's foreign financiers described the extension of the franchise as a "modest step forward".[5]

The procedure for the election—a form of runoff voting—is outlined in section 89 of the Constitution of Somalia.[8] There were over twenty registered candidates in the first round of voting.[9]

Bribery

The parliamentary election was considered by experts to be one of the most corrupt political events in the history of the country. Amid widespread reports of vote-buying, investigators estimated at least $20 million had been paid as bribes. Several candidates paid political unknowns to run against them to add a veneer of legitimacy to their races, and analysts have said that Al-Shabaab did not interfere with the election, as the corruption involved made the group look good by comparison. Much of the money used came from foreign nations with interests in Somalia, which hoped that the candidates they supported monetarily would help advance their interests. Once seated, the parliament voted on who would become president.[10]

Candidates

A total of 23 or 24 candidates[note 1] declared themselves, though withdrawals—including that of Abdirahman Farole[11]—reduced the field to 21 by the time of the vote.[12] The field included the incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, incumbent Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke, former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Somalia's former envoy to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur among others.[13]

Results

Former Presidents of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (left) and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (right), stand side by side with the new president of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, at the inauguration ceremony in Mogadishu on February 22, 2017

No candidate achieved the required two-thirds of votes to win in the first round, so the top four candidates (Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke) advanced to the second round. Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke then dropped out, reducing the field to three candidates. No candidate reached the required threshold in the second round of voting, and third-place Ahmed was eliminated.[14] Hassan Sheikh Mohamud conceded defeat, negating the need for a final vote.[2]

Mohamed became the President of Somalia after receiving 184 out of the total 326 valid votes by members of the Somali Parliament, thereby defeating former president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.[15] He ran against 19 opponents and was sworn into office on 16 February.[16]

CandidateFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud8826.919729.75
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed7222.0218456.44
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed4814.684513.80
Omar Sharmarke3711.31
Abdulkadir Osoble Ali257.65
Said Abdullahi Deni185.50
Abdullahi Ali Ahmed144.28
Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame92.75
Abdinasir Abdille Mohamed61.83
Ali Haji Warsame30.92
Haji Mohamed Yassin Ismail20.61
Mohamed Nur20.61
Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle10.31
Said Issa Mohamud10.31
Mohamed Ahmed Jabarti10.31
Mohamed Ali Nur00.00
Bashir Raghe Shiiraar00.00
Mohamed Abdirizak Mohamud00.00
Abdullahi Elmoge Hersi00.00
Ahmed Mohamed Abdi00.00
Total327100.00326100.00
Valid votes32799.7032699.39
Invalid/blank votes10.3020.61
Total votes328100.00328100.00
Registered voters/turnout32999.7032999.70
Source: Safer World

Notes

  1. ↑ The original number of candidates varies slightly between reports; reports 24, reports 23.

References

  1. ↑ "Somalia sets presidential election for Feb. 8", AFP via New Vision, 26 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Somalia's Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo chosen as president". BBC News. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Former PM and dual-US citizen wins Somali presidential election". The Guardian. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Somali elections: Mogadishu traffic ban ahead of presidential vote". 8 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 Burke, Jason (8 February 2017). "Somalis celebrate 'new dawn' after presidential election win". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Int'l community confirms funds support for Somali Election 2016". Garowe Online. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Somalia's Presidential Election for 14,000 People". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Constitution of Somalia Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "SOMALIA DECIDES: Lawmakers make way to polling centre, total shut down in Mogadishu as nation holds breath for new leader". Goobjoog. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Gettleman, Jeffrey (7 February 2017). "Fueled by Bribes, Somalia's Election Seen as Milestone of Corruption". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Somalia: Farole withdraws from the presidential race, citing interference in the Somali election". Garowe online. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "Somalia presidential election moves to second round". The East African. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "Somalia 2017 Presidential elections: Results and winner Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo". Kenyaote. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "Step-by-step: How Somali MPs elected new President in a fortified airport". Africa News. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  15. ↑ Jama, Hassan (5 August 2015). "Interview with former Somali PM Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed "Farmaajo"". Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  16. ↑ Aglionby, John (8 February 2017). "Farmaajo begins 'era of unity' as Somali president". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 9 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
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