Somalia elections: Mogadishu placed under 33-hour lockdown
Saturday May 14 2022
A street in the Somalia capital Mogadishu with banners of presidential candidates on May 13, 2022. PHOTO | AFP
Somalia’s capital Mogadishu will be placed under lockdown ahead of the long-delayed presidential election on Sunday.
Police spokesperson Col Abdifatah Aden Hassan announced that residents will be under a 33-hour curfew as a security measure to allow the 329 members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament to pick a President from 39 candidates.
Read: 39 contenders eye Somalia presidency
“The curfew will start tonight, Saturday, at 9 pm and will last until Monday morning, at 6 am,” Col Hassan said.
The indirect election will be held on Sunday in Afisyoni hangar behind the Aden Abdulle Airport blast walls to help fend off potential Al-Shabaab Islamist group attacks.
Read: Explainer: Somalia election where the people don't vote
Peacekeepers from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis), working with Somali police, will guard the election venue.
Col Hassan, briefing the media on Saturday at the Somali Police Force headquarters, said only the legislators, security personnel, presidential candidates and officials in the election would be allowed to move during the curfew.