Somalia sets Sept. 10 as presidential vote date

1 September Xinhua

Somali parliament's election committee on Friday announced Sept. 10 as the date for holding the presidential vote by the country's newly-inaugurated legislature, officials said.

The Somali parliament this week voted to choose its speaker and deputy speakers as one of key steps of a plan to move the country out of prolonged transitional.

"The election of the president will be held on 10 Sept. but the process to prepare for the vote will start earlier. Between Sept. 3 to Sept. 6 the election committee will receive the application from presidential candidates and on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8 candidates will speak with lawmakers about their programs," Osman libah Ibrahim, spokesperson of the 15-member Election Committee told Xinhua.

Ibrahim said that deadline for campaigning by candidates will be on Sept. 9 and beyond that date candidates will be allowed to continue with their campaigns.A number of key Somali leaders have announced their candidature for the presidency including the outgoing president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali but the former speaker of parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adam, who announced his intention to run for the top job may not run after speaker of new parliament was taken by a member of Adam's clan.Somalia's power sharing arrangement bars for people from similar clan to hold more than one of the four top posts of the state i.e. the parliament speaker, the president, the Prime Minister and the chairman of the Supreme Court.

A dozen other candidates are also vying for the presidency including former Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdulahi Farmajo and well-known Somali academic Ahmed Ismail Samatar.