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Abdiweli Mohamed Ali elected President of Somalia’s Puntland
Newly elected President of Somalia’s Puntland, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. PHOTO/European Press Agency
Parliament narrowly elected former prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali as president Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland on Wednesday, backing his campaign against corruption and insecurity in the relatively peaceful Somali region.
At the tip of the Horn of Africa and with a third of Somalia’s population of about 10 million, Puntland spans the north of Somalia and has largely escaped the worst of the country’s upheaval of the last 20 years.
Somalia’s central government and foreign powers advocating a loose federal political system in Somalia have held Puntland up as a possible model, having avoided the worst of a 7-year insurgency fought by militants seeking to impose a strict interpretation of sharia law.
Saciid Hassan Shire, the speaker for Puntland’s parliament, declared Ali, an economist, the president-elect with 33 votes against outgoing leader Abdirahman Sheikh Mohamed Farole who got 32 votes in a run-off during the third round of voting by deputies.
“I promise progress and peace for Puntland in the coming 5 years, let’s all work together in improving the security and development,” Ali, a former prime minister for Somalia, said after his victory.
During the campaign, Ali accused his main rival of corruption and failing to curb insecurity. Farole has denied the allegations.
Farole told reporters last year the number of al-Shabaab militants in the region had risen after African Union troops drove them out of their southern strongholds.
