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Showing posts with the label A Surprise

In Somalia's Historic Presidential Election, A Surprise Victor Declared

Votes cast by Somali parliamentarians are counted in the first round of the presidential election on Wednesday in the capital, Mogadishu. Farah Abdi Warsameh/ AP A surprise winner has been declared in Somalia's presidential election — Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, a former prime minister and the popular favorite who was running against the incumbent president. Somali lawmakers cast their votes in a heavily fortified airport in a country plagued by regular militant attacks. Twenty candidates were  whittled down to three  after the first round — including the incumbent, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who had been accused of vote-buying. According to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Somalia, Mohamud won the most votes in the first round, followed by Farmajo, a former prime minister and the eventual winner. "And even though the process was rife with corruption from all sides, a vote for Farmajo is seen as a vote against corruption," as NPR's Eyder Peralta reports from Nairobi, Ke