Somalia parliament picks Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur as new speaker

Somali soldiers loyal to Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble take positions outside the Aden Adde International Airport where members of the Lower House of Parliament are meeting to elect a speaker, in Mogadishu, Somalia, April 27, 2022. [Reuters]

Somalia's lawmakers elected Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur as their new speaker on Thursday, in a vote that was delayed most of the previous day due to disagreements over who would be in charge of the security of the venue of the vote.

The election of speakers in the parliament and senate a day earlier is a key step in establishing the new government, which must be in place by May 17 if Somalia is to continue receiving budget support from the International Monetary Fund, the lender said in February.