The joint US- Somali citizen promises a new beginning for the beleaguered country.

Somali’s took to the streets, singing and  firing automatic weapons into the air, after their MPs elected Mohamed  Abdullahi Mohamed as their president in a day of voting at the Mogadishu airport which was the only venue the authorities could secure.

Critics say the election – the most extensive and expensive democratic exercise in Somalia for decades – has entrenched divides between the country’s many traditional clans and encouraged graft. But others described it as a way station to political stability and full democracy.

United Nations special representative for Somalia Michael Keating , describes the poll as a political process with electoral features, and a pretty brave thing to do.

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