Race for Villa Somalia heats up as more than 20 candidates get cleared

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The joint committee tasked with organizing presidential polls embarked on the second day to register candidates vying for the Somali presidency, a process that has seen nearly 20 getting registered.

The committee began registration of candidates yesterday in Mogadishu.  At least ten candidates were registered yesterday, with former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, leading the pack.

Candidates registered yesterday include; Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Dahir Mohamud Guelleh, Hassan Ali Kheyre, Abdulkadir Osoble Ali, Bashir Haji Ali (Jamaal), Abdullahi Ali Hassan, Abdinur Sheikh Mohamed, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, Abdikarim. Hussein Guled, Abdirahman Maalim Ahmed Ablaal.

Registration of candidates continues today and the following have been registered so far; Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Dr. Said Isse Mohamud, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdi, Ahmed Duale Guelleh Haaf, Mahad Ahmed Diriye, Muqtar Mohamed Sayid, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdi and Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adam. 

Fawzia Yusuf Adam, a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government, is the only woman who has thrust herself into the race for the country’s top office, a no mean feat for a woman in culturally conservative Somalia.

Other candidates are also expected to register before tomorrow’s deadline, including President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who on Sunday announced his re-election bid.