[ad_1] <br><div id="body-text"> <p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Police in Somalia have announced a 33-hour curfew on the capital Mogadishu that will keep almost all residents at home during a presidential election by lawmakers on Sunday, in which incumbent leader Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is seeking a second term.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Police spokesperson Abdifatah Aden announced at a press conference on Saturday a full curfew in the city, covering both traffic and people, from Saturday at 9:00 PM (1800 GMT) until Monday at 6:00 AM.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode=""><a href="https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMOnQlwswi_quAw?oc=3&ceid=US:en&hl=en-US&gl=US"><strong>For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.</strong></a></p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Lawmakers, security personnel and all others officials involved in the vote are still free to move during those hours.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">The indirect election, in which lawmakers will pick a president, will take place in an airport hangar behind blast walls to help fend off potential Islamist attacks or meddling by factions within the security services.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Mohamed is facing 37 opponents in the vote, including two former presidents, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who analysts see as the frontrunners.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Originally, they were 39, but between Thursday and Friday two candidates announced they were exiting the race.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Polls are due to commence early Sunday and are expected to proceed late into the night amid a volatile security atmosphere in which police fear extremist group al-Shabaab could seek to carry out attacks to disrupt the event.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">The al-Shabaab insurgency has gripped Somalia for more than a decade, and a promise by Mohamed at his inauguration in 2017 to “finish” the group has gone unfulfilled.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Al-Shabaab says it wants to topple the Horn of Africa country’s central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode="">Somalia’s next leader will inherit a daunting list of challenges, including the worst drought in 40 years, a violent conflict entering its fourth decade, clan feuds, and a power struggle between the government and federal member states.</p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode=""><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode=""><a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/04/28/Somalia-parliament-picks-Sheikh-Adan-Mohamed-Nur-as-new-speaker"><strong>Somalia parliament picks Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur as new speaker</strong></a></p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode=""><a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/04/26/UN-aid-chief-says-two-million-children-risk-starving-to-death-in-Horn-of-Africa"><strong>UN aid chief says two million children risk starving to death in Horn of Africa</strong></a></p><p class="body-1 paragraph" data-aa-component="paragraph" data-allow-readmode=""><a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/01/13/US-threatens-action-if-Somalia-misses-new-election-deadline"><strong>US threatens action if Somalia misses new election deadline</strong></a></p> </div> <br>[ad_2] <br><a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/05/14/Police-announce-curfew-in-Somalia-s-capital-ahead-of-presidential-election">Source link </a>