New Prez - Sheikh Sharif

[Kelya_Xariif]

norf pointed out the obvious,, shiekh shariif is already sellected by 275 mp.

 

is there any doubt that he will be the new president? i dont think so

[General Duke]

No doubt he is President, but the problem he faces are many. Good luck to him...

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

Shariif is the frontrunner in this race. Ironically, a hand that may assist him circuitously is a block vote from “Yeey MPs” who may wish to take advantage of this lucky opportunity to oust Nuur Cadde and Aadan Madoobe. A win for Sheikh Shariif is a defeat for Nuur Cadde automatically because they are from the same sub-clan. Having said that, let us a not disregard the "money factor" in the race which may still pose a threat to Shariif.

[xiinfaniin]

lol@Oodweyne,

 

Waryee is it me or good Sharif's political moves do indeed interest you these days ?

 

For starters, Sharif has the capacity to think big, and outside of the somali box.

 

Mystic powers too. Even Aw Tusbaxle of SOL endorses him today.

[Fabregas]

I endorse the sheikh as long as he doesn't shake hands with female presidents. Tell him to put his on his xabad and say, " kayf xalak-hellow- hellow".

 

Honestly, the guy will have his work cut out.

[Paragon]

I heard different. According to the nephews/nieces of PM Nuur Cade, he'll be the president and Sheikh Shariif is set to become the Prime Minister. That's the war-lugeed I have been hearing since morning, which I couldn't relay to SOL due to excessive note-taking .

 

Those bloody maqaaxi commentators talk too much; I've got a head-ache now .

[xiinfaniin]

^^Sharif and Nur are allies. Sharif is leader, Nur the political facilitator.

[General Duke]

^^^lool. Nur Cade & Sharif admin would work in Djibouti hotel if that’s the case. Sharif Ahmed should win easily. They agreed to the 4.5 the PM will be from the large clan that has vacated the Presidency, that’s the truth lads. Nothing will change, but the problem here is the bloated parliament, its too big.

Never mind the Al Shabaab takeover of the south, its a daunting dilema that faces any of them.

[Paragon]

^Indeed. I was doing an ad-hoc research ascertaining the prospects of Shariif geting the top post today but it seems others have Nur as favourite. Anyway, those who've got an ear close to the group say - in a matter-of-factly, semi-confirmed air- that the arrangment's already done. Just as I pointed above.

 

But were here to see. Explaining the Shariif has the better chance became 'hal bacaad lagu lisay'.

[General Duke]

^^^If that’s the case then either the Sharif is the dumbest man in Somali political history,

Or those who gave you that report are insane. Which one is it?

[Paragon]

^Lol. I'll stick to the last possibility. Shariif isn't dumb, we know .

[General Duke]

^^^

[Resistance]

The race is a lot closer than some expect indeed, the new larger parliment will still follow the 4.5 rule hence block viting will be rife, but will it be a case of Jabuuti lot voting together and if indeed they have agreed to vote Shariif then he will win but if the much larger parilement vote along the Qabiil lines then Shariif's victory is not certain.

 

Also there are some inside the Jabuuti arm who firmly beleive that Shariif will be out of his depth to hold the post and deal with the conflicting international diplomcy he will face.

 

Also the Opposition - the Jabuuti arm - will want to run the new government and as we have seen from the Cade/Yusuf case is better to hold the PM post if they wanna influence the direction of the new goverment takes.

 

So some might see a Nuur Cade presidency to actually suit the Jabuuti arm of the oppisition since they new PM will be from amongst them and in that case they will have a President who will be freindly and a PM who will still give Shariif a top post.

[N.O.R.F]

Jumca wanaagsan IA!

 

Somalia to pick new president

 

1 hour ago

 

DJIBOUTI (AFP) — Somali lawmakers were to elect a new president Friday, with the current premier and the Islamist opposition leader clear frontrunners in the battle to take the helm of the war-ravaged country.

 

The newly-enlarged parliament of 550 lawmakers comprising the more moderate wing of the Islamist-led opposition was due to vote in Djibouti on a replacement for Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who resigned last month.

 

A myriad politicians have entered the fray but Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein and Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who heads the pro-peace branch of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), have emerged as frontrunners.

 

"My first priority is to bring peace to Somalia and I will serve the nation to the best of my ability," Sheikh Sharif said at a lunch in Djibouti on Thursday, in an eleventh-hour bid to muster more support for his candidacy.

 

The cleric, in his forties, is also the head of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which briefly controlled much of Somalia in 2006 before being ousted by an Ethiopian military invasion.

 

Ethiopian troops moved into neighbouring Somalia to oust what they saw as an extremist Islamic movement on its doorstep and prop up a weak Somali transitional federal government.

 

But after two years of deadly guerrilla war, the Ethiopians have pulled out with little to speak for, more radical groups have blossomed and Sheikh Sharif is seen by many as the candidate of the political centre.

 

According to observers in Djibouti, his main opponent in the election is Nur Hassan Hussein, who emerged victorious from his latest tussle with former president Yusuf but whose TFG is weaker than ever.

 

"My administration will be the continuation of the peace process... The election is part of my efforts to end the civil war in a peaceful way," he told AFP on Thursday.

 

Hussein is seen as one of the main factors that helped the UN-sponsored reconciliation process get off the ground, eventually clinching the commitment of a large faction of the ARS in 2008.

 

"If I am elected, I will bring all the opposition groups to the peace process so that Somalia stops being a battleground," he said.

 

Loved by the international community for his humanitarian background and integrity, his critics say he has little sway over his own clan and lacks the charisma to yank Somalia out of 18 years of civil conflict.

 

While ARS MPs should vote massively for Sheikh Sharif, Nur Hassan Hussein's TFG camp is fractured, with some allies of former president Yusuf throwing their weight behind the opposition frontrunner.

 

"We will vote for him without any reservation. His election will be the era of unity," said Abdi Irro, an MP with close ties to Yusuf.

 

Former speaker and senior ARS official Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden also defended Sheikh Sharif's presidential bid as the best way to lead the Horn of Africa country out of the cycle of violence.

 

"He is one of the most prominent figures in Somalia. Sheikh Sharif is the best choice to overcome the current crisis," he told lawmakers Thursday.

 

If the election is completed on Friday, the new president will be sworn in on Saturday, in time to represent his country at the African Union heads of state summit in Addis Ababa later this weekend.

 

Somalia has had no effective central authority since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre touched off a bloody cycle of clashes between rival factions.

 

Whoever wins the presidential election will face the daunting task of taming the Shebab, a hardline offshoot of the ICU, who reject the peace process and control several key towns.

AFP