A parliamentary committee has concluded the nominations process for presidential candidates in Somalia.
With 39 contenders running for the presidency in the restive horn of Africa nation, it is a hotly contested election.
The incumbent president Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmaajo,” and two past presidents are among the leading candidates.
A former MP and the state president of the autonomous province of Puntland are also running. The present leader and his predecessors are most likely to compete.
Fawzia Yusuf Adam is the only woman in the running.
On Wednesday and Thursday, candidates will deliver campaign addresses to parliament ahead of elections in Mogadishu on Sunday.
Over 300 members of parliament will vote for the president, who will lead the country for the next four years.
The elections were postponed multiple times due to insecurity and infighting among prominent political personalities.
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Somalia on May 15, 2022. The election will be held indirectly and after the elections for the House of the People, which began on November 1, 2021 and ended on April 13, 2022.
The elections were first scheduled to end on December 24, 2021. However, by December 25, only 24 of 275 representatives had been elected and the ongoing political crisis further complicated matters. The current president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, has been in office since the February 2017 election and his term expired on 8 February 2021, however it was extended until after the elections would be completed.
On January 10, 2022, Somali leaders announced they struck a deal to complete presidential and parliamentary elections by February 25, after repeated delays that have threatened the stability of the country. The agreement was reached after several days of talks, hosted by Roble, with state leaders aimed at ending an impasse over the polls.
On February 25, 2022, the presidential election was further postponed to March 15. The presidential election was again further postponed to March 31 in order to complete the election of House of the People.