Security has been tightened in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, before Wednesday’s presidential election. The run-up to the vote has been tumultuous with repeated delays and allegations of corruption.
The presidential vote has been postponed four times, but Wednesday parliament is expected to finally gather at the Mogadishu international airport, chosen for security reasons, and elect the country’s next leader.
The polls have been messy at best, mired in accusations of widespread vote buying. Seats in parliament allegedly went for thousands of dollars each late last year.
VOA’s Somali service spoke to former Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, who expects better during Wednesday’s vote.
“We do not believe that the current parliament of the two houses are not patriotic, are not loyal to their people and their country. We believe that they will overcome. We believe that the challenges coming from the corruption mispractices, intimidation and harassment will be defeated by the current two houses of the parliament,” he said.
Somalia cannot hold direct nationwide elections due to ongoing insecurity and logistical issues, like the lack of a national census. So parliamentary members were elected by select clan leaders and regional representatives.