An indirect presidential election was held in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

on 30 January 2009. Due to the security situation in

Baidoa Baidoa (, Somali: Maay.html"_;"title="f-Maxaa:_Baydhabo,_Maay">f-Maxaa:_Baydhabo,_Maay:_''Baydhowy)''_is_the_largest_city_of_the_South_West_State_of_Somalia. Between_2002_and_2014,_Baidoa_was_the_capital_of_the_South_West_State_of_Somalia.html ...

, it was held in

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

. President

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Sharif Sheikh Ahmed ( so, Shariif Sheekh Axmed, ar, شريف شيخ أحمد; born 25 July 1964) is a Somali politician who served as President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. He is the founder and leader of Himilo Qaran political party and ...

won the election.

Background

The election was necessitated following the resignation of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed ( so, Cabdulaahi Yuusuf Axmed, ar, عبدالله يوسف أحمد‎; 15 December 1934 – 23 March 2012) was a Somali politician and former colonel in the Somali National Army. He was one of the founders of the Somali ...

on 29 December 2008, over the dismissal of the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Nur Hassan Hussein Nur Hassan Hussein ( so, Nuur Xasan Xuseen Cadde, ar, نور حسن حسين‎; 2 February 1938 – 1 April 2020), popularly known as Nur Adde, was a Somali politician, who served as Prime Minister of Somalia from November 2007 to February 2 ...

which was not approved by the

Transitional Federal Parliament The Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic (TFP) ( so, Golaha Shacabka Federaalka Kumeelgaarka ee Jamhuuriyada Soomaaliya; often ''Baarlamaanka Federaalka Soomaaliya'') was the national parliament of Somalia from 2004 until 2012. ...

. As such, the Speaker of Parliament

Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe ( so, Aaden Maxamed Nuur Madoobe, ar, آدم محمد نور مادوبي, Maay: Sheeg Ethyng Mothoowy, born 15 April 1956), popularly known as Aden Madobe, is the current Speaker of the Lower House of the Federal Parl ...

shall act as interim President until the Parliament elects a new President based on the

Transitional Federal Charter The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic (TFC) was the principle organizing document of Somalia. Written and approved in February 2004, it represented one of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The other TFIs included the ...

within 30 days. Postponing the election until a new interim parliament, which would likely include moderate Islamist opposition, was considered, but Interim President Aden Madobe stated that a new president would be selected within the constitutionally mandated 30-day period. On 11 January 2009

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

Peace and Security Commissioner

Ramtane Lamamra Ramtane Lamamra ( ar, رمطان لعمامرة; born 15 June 1952) is an Algerian diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria. He was the African Union's Commissioner for Peace and Security from 2008 to 2013 and Minister of Foreign Aff ...

announced that the election would take place on 26 January, with preparations including nominations of candidates commencing on 20 January.

announced on his candidacy 15 January 2009. Other official candidates include MP

Mohamed Afrah Qanyare Mohamed Qanyare Afrah ( so, Maxamed Qanyare Afrax, ar, محمد افراح قنياري}(1941) was a Somali faction leader and politician who was based south of Mogadishu in the Daynile District. He came in third position in Somalia's first el ...

(an ex-

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

warlord), MP

Hassan Abshir Farah Hassan Abshir Farah ( so, Xasan Abshir Faarax, ar, حسن ابشير فرح; June 20, 1945 – July 12, 2020) was a Somali politician. He previously served as mayor of Mogadishu and interior minister of Puntland. From November 12, 2001 to Novem ...

(a former prime minister), Ali Mohammed Ghedi (also a former prime minister),

Ali Khalif Galaid Ali Khalif Galaydh ( so, Cali Khalif Galaydh, ar, علي خليف غلير) (15 October 1941 – 8 October 2020) was a Somali politician. He was the Prime Minister of the transitional Somalia administration from 8 October 2000 to 28 October 2001. ...

(another former prime minister) and Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan (an ex-

Kismayo Kismayo ( so, Kismaayo, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Kismanyy'', ar, كيسمايو, ; it, Chisimaio) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The cit ...

warlord);

ARS Ars or ARS may refer to: Places * Ars, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran * ''Ars'', various communes in France: ** Ars, Charente, in the Charente ''département'' ** Ars, Creuse, in the Creuse ''département'' ** Ars-en-Ré, in ...

Chairman

Sharif Ahmed Sharif Sheikh Ahmed ( so, Shariif Sheekh Axmed, ar, شريف شيخ أحمد; born 25 July 1964) is a Somali politician who served as President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. He is the founder and leader of Himilo Qaran political party and a ...

also stated he was a contender for the presidency. In total, at least sixteen candidates have stated they want to become President; the PM and the ARS chairman are seen as the most likely contenders. Due to difficulties in picking the next president, the deadline was considered to be extended; despite strong pressure from the international community, the original deadline of 28 January 2009 was extended by five days, meaning the election is to be held by 2 February 2009. As planned, the

was enlarged to include 200 representatives from the Islamist opposition and 75 representatives of citizens' groups and diaspora representatives; the former group was sworn in on 27 January 2009. The 275 existing MPs voted 211 to 6 in favour with 3 abstentions to enlarging the TFP.

Candidates

A total of fourteen candidates formally filed to stand in the election. The candidates were: *

, leader of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia * Mohamed Osman Aden, counselor at the Somali embassy in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Mohamed Qanyare Afrah Mohamed Qanyare Afrah ( so, Maxamed Qanyare Afrax, ar, محمد افراح قنياري}(1941) was a Somali faction leader and politician who was based south of Mogadishu in the Daynile District. He came in third position in Somalia's first el ...

- Former faction leader, and Minister for Internal Security. * Mohamed Ahmed Ali, a young candidate from the Somali diaspora in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. * Awad Ahmed Asharo, MP * Yusuf Azhari, an advisor to former president Yusuf * Ali Hashi Dhoore, a Somali businessman based in Italy *

, former mayor of

and PM from 2001 to 2003 *

Mohamoud Mohamed Gacmodhere Dr. Mohamed Mohamud Guled Ga'modhere ( so, Maxamed Maxamuud Guuleed Gacmodhere, ar, محمد محموغعمدار) was Somalia's interior minister, and formerly the Minister of Public Works and Housing. His portfolio was swapped on February 7, 2 ...

, MP and former minister, was appointed PM by then-President Ahmed Yusuf late in 2008 before resigning a few days later *

, PM from 2000–2001, university professor * Abdirahman Abdi Hussein, former general and envoy to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

* Ahmed Hashi Mahmoud, former army officer. * Maslah Mohammed Siad Barre, a general and son of former president of

Mohamed Siad Barre * Musa Mualim Yusuf, a businessman based in Uganda, has never lived in Somalia

Results

There were three rounds of voting. The first round of voting reduced the field of candidates to six, the second to just two, with the winner decided in a run-off round. As the first round of voting began, several candidates withdrew. In the first round,

got 215 votes, Maslah Mohamed Siad 60 and Nur Hassan Hussein 59; Hussein and Ali Khalif Galaid then also withdrew. All candidates except Siad and Sharif withdrew after the first round of voting; Sharif won the run-off with 293 to 126 votes.

References

{{Somali indirect elections 2009 elections in Africa 2009 in Djibouti 2009 in Somalia

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

January 2009 events in Africa