Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Saturday was elected Somalia's president, leaving him in charge of a fragile peace process aimed at ending 18 years of civil conflict.
Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Saturday was elected Somalia's president, leaving him in charge of a fragile peace process aimed at ending 18 years of civil conflict.
The young cleric promptly vowed to form a broad government and invited all armed groups in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation to join the UN-sponsored reconciliation effort.
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Sheikh Sharif, who chairs the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), comfortably won the vote held in neighbouring Djibouti, only days after the Ethiopian troops who sent him into exile two years ago completed their pullout from Somalia.
He defeated Maslah Mohamed Siad Barre, a general and the son of a former president, in the second round of voting, according to an official tally of some 430 lawmakers' votes.
"We have 293 votes for Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and 126 for Siad," said Hussein Mohamed Jama, head of the presidential electoral commission.
"I declare Sharif Sheikh Ahmed the president of Somalia after winning this election," Parliament Speaker Aden Mohamed Nur said.
In a brief acceptance speech following a vote that ended after 0400 am (0100 GMT), Sheikh Sharif vowed to reach out to the former transitional government as well as to the Shebab, a hardline offshoot of the ICU which rejects talks.
"Very soon, I will form a government which represents the people of Somalia. We will live peacefully with East African countries and we want to cooperate with them," he said.
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