Stage set for presidential voting

The field of contenders running for the presidency of Somalia has narrowed down to 28 candidates ahead of Friday’s historic vote in Arta, Djibouti, by members of the country’s new Transitional National Assembly. Conference sources told IRIN that voting for the new head of state would begin mid-afternoon and could last through the night. After the first round of voting, the field is expected to narrow further to a short list of about seven candidates. Originally there were 47 candidates, but several withdrew from the race to become the first head of state in Somalia after a decade of civil war and anarchy. The proceedings at the Arta conference venue, a large tent at premises provided by the Djibouti government, were frequently lively as those withdrawing from the race stood down. One of the would-be candidates, Abdullahi Musa, a well-known traditional leader in Bossaso who defied orders from home not to attend the conference, drew a round of applause when he told delegates he was withdrawing because the thought of taking on the responsibilities of head of state scared him. [NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS: On 23 August, in a Focus on the peace conference, IRIN erroneously reported the venue as a “plush villa”. IRIN apologises for any misunderstanding this error may have caused]