Somalia set for new president on May 15

The election activities were destabilized by the violent ways of al-Shabab troops as well as clashing amongst President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble.

Somalia’s Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble addressed members of parliament in Mogadishu.

Somali lawmakers are few days away from probably choosing the country’s new president on May 15, a parliamentary committee has said, a long-overdue final step in an extended political crisis.

The decision was pronounced on Thursday.

The choice of a president could be a key step in inaugurating a fresh government, which must be in place by May 17 if Somalia is to continue receiving budget support from the International Fund on which it depends to pay vital bills.

Riven by war since 1991, the Horn of Africa continent has been troubled to rebuild its establishments in the face of terror by the al-Qaeda-linked armed group al-Shabab.

The central government or allied forces control the capital Mogadishu and most of the main cities, however bindings of the countryside, especially in central Somalia, are under al-Shabab’s control.

The election process was threatened by the group’s attacks similarly as rifts between President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble.

Last year, the president tried to extend his four-year term by two years but was dissatisfied by parliament.

Under Somalia’s indirect electoral process, clan elders select the 275 members of the lower house, who in turn choose the president. More than a dozen candidates are expected to compete.

Somalia’s information ministry on Thursday told police to stop a group who were trying to organize pre-election presidential debates, saying they had not been issued a broadcast license.