Wednesday December 19, 2018
A former Somali government minister was on Wednesday elected president of the South West State after beating four other candidates in a hotly contested race, the committee announced on Wednesday.
Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, former minister of energy and water resources and popularly known as Laftagareen, emerged as the winner in the election in which a total of 149 legislators participated.
The regional state elections committee announced "Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed got 101 votes while his closest rival got 22 votes. Mohamed is now the president of South West."
The election faced several delays amid row between regional leaders and federal government.
Former al-Shabab deputy leader Mukhtar Robow who was the main challenger was arrested and barred from contesting in the elections by the Somali government, citing international sanctions.