Federal President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud emerged as the front-runner in the first round of the presidential voting by members of Somalia’s federal parliament today but fell far short of the required two-thirds majority to win outright, forcing a second round of balloting among the top four recipie
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A woman walks in drought-hit Salaxley village, 15 kilometers south of Garowe in Puntland, on 1 February 2017. Puntland is one of the regions hit by a severe drought. UN Photo

Senators belonging to the Upper House cast their votes to determine the Speaker of the Upper House, as well as the two Deputy Speakers, during an election in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 22 January 2017. UN Photo

The Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia and Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, Peter de Clercq, speaks at an event in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 17 January 2017, to mark the launch of a humanitarian response plan by the United Nations and international donors in the face of a prolonged drought, which is leading to food insecurity in the country and even a possible famine. UN Photo

Peter de Clercq, the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia and the UN's Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, speaks to a woman affected by the drought in Baidoa, on 16 January 2017. UN Photo

Author and political analyst, Abukar Sheikh Ahmed says:“The debate on the issues of the election from the public perspective was not interesting because there was no public voting and campaigning. Most of the candidates knew their target and they were campaigning in parliament and clans.”