Change of guard at Villa Somalia as Farmaajo elected 9th President of Somalia
Mogadishu burst into a jamboree with gunfire and red hot bullets crisscrossing the city while hundreds poured into streets in song and dance as news of change of guard at Villa Somalia filtered in Wednesday night.
A new leader was unveiled to the country in clear tradition of one term presidency in Somalia. Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, former prime minister became the winner of the hotly contested race after his erstwhile opponent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud quit the race shortly before a third round was called.
First round
Farmaajo secured 72 votes in the first round while Mohamud led the pack with 88 votes as former president Sheikh Sharif Ahmed came third with 49 votes. Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke got 37 votes.
Sharmarke withdrew after the first round noting ‘I could feel where the vote was heading to,’ leaving the three to battle out for the coveted prize.
People’s president
Farmaajo who has always been touted as the people’s president with concern he might be denied the presidency because of the clan based system in place opened a clear lead in the second round making it impossible for Mohamud to catch up.
The new leader thanked the people of Somalia and all the organisers of the election for making it successful. “I wish to thank you all for making this election a success. I will address the country later,” said Farmajo.
Outgoing president Mohamud also expressed his gratitude for all the candidates and wished the new president success in his new role. Former President Sheik Sharif who came third in the second round with 46 votes thanked president Mohamud for conceding defeat and paving way for a peaceful transfer of power.
Celebration in Mogadishu
Mogadishu is in full celebratory mood with people pouring into the streets after two days of complete shut down. Roads were closed and the country’s airspace shut since Tuesday in what authorities said was for security purposes and would not be taking any chances.
Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo tonight becomes the country’s 9th president and the second president since the end of the Transitional Federal Government.
Farmaajo was born in 1962 two years after Somalia’s independence to a family originally from Gedo in south-western Somalia. He got his primary and secondary education in Mogadishu before landing a job at the ministry of foreign affairs in Somalia.
Between 1985 and 1989 he served as the first secretary at the Somali embassy in Washington DC. In 1989, he left to pursue a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Buffalo in New York. During this time, Farmajo applied for political asylum in the United States after the government collapsed in 1991.
He continued his studies at the University of Buffalo and obtained a master’s degree in political sciences and international relations.
Upon acquiring American citizenship, he went on to hold several jobs in New York state, including at the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, the Erie County Division of Equal Employment Opportunity, and the New York State Department of Transportation.
Farmajo taught leadership skills and conflict resolution at Erie Community College in the US.
President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed appointed Farmajo as prime minister in October 2010 to succeed Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who resigned from his post following a dispute.
Resigned
Farmajo resigned from this post in June 2011 under pressure from the international community as part of the Kampala Accord between President Ahmed and the Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Adan, during which the mandate of the transitional institutions was extended to August 20, 2012.
In 2011, Farmajo founded a new political party, the Somali Justice and Equality Party, also known as Tayo. Farmajo is currently the secretary general of Tayo party.