SOMALIA'S HASSAN SHEIKH MOHAMUD HAS HIS WORK CUT OUT!

September 10, 2012

There have been celebrations in Somalia as the official results of the presidential elections announced Hassan Sheikh Mohamud the winner. In the first round, Mr Mohamud had come second to the incumbent, President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, but today's results saw him sail through with 190 votes to 79. The new president had received the backing of the Prime Minister Abdiweli Ali who had come third in the first round.

Mr Mohamud, 57, is an academic and human rights activist and he has worked for various developmental organisations, including UNICEF. As well as the jubilation there has been a lot of optimism and talk of the ushering in of a new era, but how this will be achieved is anybodies guess. He will have to cope with the extreme poverty of large swathes of the population, Al Shabaab insurgents and endemic piracy.

The world will be watching him and if he manages to make headway, he would certainly have much to teach us.