Somalia edges closer to its first government

September 17 2004 at 09:17AM

Nairobi - With the election of a speaker of the newly formed parliament, Somalia has edged closer to its first national government in 13 years.

But while MPs meeting in Kenya were cheering their new acting head of state, news reports said on Thursday that fighting between rival warlords near the southern Somali city of Kismayo continued.

In a drawn-out session on Wednesday, the parliamentarians, meeting here, elected businessman Shariff Hassan Sheikh Adan as the new speaker.

Somalia is the only country in the world without a government. The next step toward establishing one will be the election of a president, which is scheduled for next Wednesday.

There are some 60 Somali presidential candidates. A few are women. One candidate is Hussein Aideed, son of warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed.

The president's first task will be to select a prime minister, who will be responsible for forming an interim government.

Elections are supposed to be held in five years' time.

"What is of importance is that Somalia gets a government to stand on its feet again," Adan told MPs after his election.

Adan is a 58-year old businessman based in Dubai.
Breakaway Somaliland in the north is not taking part in the new parliament.

Lengthy peace talks have been taking place in Kenya. In January, rival Somali factions signed a deal to set up a new parliament. - Sapa-dpa