MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Explosions erupted on Sunday in the Mogadishu airport area where parliamentarians gathered to vote in Somalia’s new president, a vote needed if the impoverished country, torn apart by three decades of civil war, continues to receive international aid.
Half a dozen residents and a Reuters reporter heard what sounded like mortar shell explosions. Somalis regularly face attacks by Islamist insurgents against state institutions.
No information on any damage or casualties was immediately available.
A source in the airport hangar where voting is taking place told Reuters no explosions were heard from inside, although lawmakers’ first round count took place in a very noisy environment.
After being postponed several times due to dissension within the government, the vote was due to take place this month for the 400 million dollar (384 million euros) aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Somalia does not expire.
The vote, under the protection of African Union peacekeepers, comes as the country faces its worst drought in 40 years and amid violence from militants of the Al Shabaab insurgent group. , infighting between the security forces and clan rivalry.
On Wednesday, an attack claimed by Al Shabaab militants left seven injured during political rallies held near the hangar where parliamentarians met.
Incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi, nicknamed Farmajo, appears unlikely to be re-elected after losing support in last month’s parliamentary vote, analysts say.
The two former presidents Sheikh Ahmed Sharif and Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud are favorites among the 36 presidential candidates. The leader of the semi-autonomous region of Punt, located in the northwest of the country, would also have a chance, according to analysts.
Somalia is still unable to organize a direct popular vote due to insecurity in the country, with the government having little control beyond the capital.
Two or three rounds of voting were expected, with a probable result at the end of the evening.
(Report Abdi Sheikh, written by Elias Biryabarema and Andrew Cawthorne; French version Camille Raynaud and Benjamin Mallet)