New president for Somalia

2004-10-11 09:34

Nairobi, Kenya - Members of Somalia's transitional parliament elected former army officer Abdullahi Yusuf as interim president for the war-torn Horn of Africa nation, the parliament speaker said.

The vote on Sunday was the final stage in a peace plan to end 13 years of civil war and restore a government to Somalia, which has been divided into fiefs ruled by rival warlords since 1991 when dictator Siad Barre was ousted.

Yusuf won with 189 votes in a third round of voting, Speaker Shariif Hassan Sheikh Aden told the 275-member transitional parliament and regional foreign affairs ministers who observed the vote.

Former Finance Minister Abdullahi Addow garnered 79 votes against Yusuf, Aden said. The run-off was called after none of the 28 original candidates won a clear majority.

In total, five candidates withdrew from the race, held in Kenya because of insecurity in Somalia, where many of the country's militia are undisciplined.

"Some Somalis work during the day and others during the night, but I promise to you that I will work both day and night to make Somalia secure," Yusuf said in an impromptu acceptance speech.

There have been 13 previous attempts to bring peace to Somalia, and Yusuf now faces a major challenge in uniting a country after civil war killed thousands of people and destroyed state coffers and infrastructure.

Yusuf is to nominate a new prime minister, who will choose a Cabinet.

Yusuf, 70, served in the army under the last dictator, Barre, rising to the rank of colonel. The two had been from the same clan, the Darod, one of Somalia's four largest.

In 1978, Yusuf formed the first group to oppose Barre, the Somali Salvation Defence Front, which was crushed by Barre. Yusuf fled to Ethiopia until Barre's ouster.

Addow on Sunday conceded defeat and congratulated Yusuf.

"I wish him success in his new job," Addow said. "I promise before the Somalis and the international community that I will work with the new president of Somalia."

Yusuf is now expected to choose a prime minister from the Hawiye clan, as in the past the Darod and Hawiye have held either the presidency or the premiership.

- SAPA