MOGADISHU, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Somali lawmakers began casting their votes on Wednesday in tightly contested presidential elections drawing 21 candidates amid heavy security in the capital Mogadishu.
Members of the upper and lower houses started casting their votes in Mogadishu in the first round through the secret ballot with the winning candidate requiring at least 219 votes or a third of the votes, failure to which a second round will be called.
Voting has started in Mogadishu for the new president with 328 lawmakers taking part in the exercise which is conducted inside the heavily guarded airport compound.
The speakers of both Houses of Parliament (Senate and Lower House) began casting their votes at about 1:25 p.m. local time and the rest of the candidates picked the cue.
Jubaland will miss out on one lawmaker since the election in the Southern state was cancelled by the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) in a third re-run, bringing the number of lawmakers eligible to vote to 328.
Lower House speaker announced a third candidate as Zakarie Mohamud withdrew from the race opening the battle for 21 candidates from the initial 24.
Four of the candidates will proceed to the second round and a further two will move to the third round should a winner not emerge. The candidate who wins the most votes in the final round will be declared president.
The incumbent, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, is defending his seat and is battling with among others former President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and current Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke.
Security has been tightened within the airport area and various parts of the city as roads within Mogadishu remain closed. The country's airspace has also been shut.
The Presidential Election Committee said strict procedures on balloting have also been put in place to minimize risks of rigging.
To avoid incidences of ballot stuffing, the ballot papers were printed inside the voting hall, shortly before the onset of balloting.
The printed ballots are exactly equal to the number of Parliamentarians present to make sure that once everybody has voted, there should be no balance of papers.
The newly elected president will be installed immediately after the announcement of the final results, according to the Chairperson of the Presidential Election Committee.
The successful completion of Wednesday's presidential election will be a key determinant of Somalia's path to universal suffrage in the year 2020.
