Somalia’s Planning Minister Wins By-Election Of Parliamentary Seat

Somalia’s Minister of Planning, investment and economic development Gamal Mohamed Hassan has won the by-election of a Parliamentary seat vacated by Dhahar Ali Farah.

Farah has been appointed as the Somali consul to Djibouti following his resignation as a member of the country’s parliament.

Hassan has defeated his main rival candidate Mohamud Abdullahi in the by-election for the House of the People vacant seat which was held on Sunday in Garowe, capital of Puntland.

The Minister joined the Federal ministers holding a seat in the Lower House Chamber of Somal parliament with reports that 74% of the cabinet are lawmakers.

The country has relied on a clan-based formula in which the lawmakers were selected by the clan delegates and then the legislators elect the president.

The electoral college system was instituted in 2016 whereby over 135 clan elders chose 14,025 delegates who then voted for each of the 275 seats in the lower house of parliament, distributed according to the clan system.