Voting begins in Somalia

MOGADISHU. - Somali lawmakers began casting their votes yesterday in tightly contested presidential elections drawing 21 candidates amid heavy security in the capital Mogadishu.

Members of the upper and lower houses started casting their votes in Mogadishu in the first round through the secret ballot with the winning candidate requiring at least 219 votes or a third of the votes, failure to which a second round will be called.

Voting has started in Mogadishu for the new president with 328 lawmakers taking part in the exercise which is conducted inside the heavily guarded airport compound.

The speakers of both Houses of Parliament (Senate and Lower House) began casting their votes at about 1:25 pm local time and the rest of the candidates picked the cue.

Jubaland will miss out on one lawmaker since the election in the Southern state was cancelled by the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) in a third re-run, bringing the number of lawmakers eligible to vote to 328.

Lower House speaker announced a third candidate as Zakarie Mohamud withdrew from the race opening the battle for 21 candidates from the initial 24.

Four of the candidates will proceed to the second round and a further two will move to the third round should a winner not emerge.