Mogadishu (agencies)
Hundreds of Somali lawmakers were sworn in yesterday, paving the way for them to choose a new president, in a process that has been delayed for months, amid a power struggle between the current president and the prime minister.
The elections had been scheduled for a year, but were postponed when President Muhammad Abdullah Muhammad tried to extend his four-year term for another two years, in a move that was aborted by Parliament.
250 of the 275 members of Parliament, along with 40 of the 45 members of the Senate, were sworn in at a heavily fortified African Union military base in the capital, Mogadishu.
The process of electing legislators, who are chosen by clan elders rather than direct election, was marred by threats and bloodshed, including the murder of a young candidate, Amina Muhammad, who was a vocal critic of the government.
No date has yet been set for the election of a new president, but the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said in February that a new government must be formed by May 17, so that Somalia can continue to receive budget support from the Fund.
Somalia suffers from a brutal insurgency led by Al-Shabab, an armed terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda, as well as tens of thousands of people facing starvation after years of interrupted rains and high food prices, which were caused by the Ukrainian crisis.
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