Presidential candidate Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden has called for Digil and Mirifle unity in the coming elections that will see him become the first president of Somalia to have come from the clan.
Sharif who had organized a farewell dinner in the South West State headquarters of Baidoa said the number of Digir and Mirifle MPs were enough to take him to Villa Somalia if they united.
Sharif who is also the President of South West State has been canvassing among MPs from the clan which mostly occupies the Bay and Bakool region.
“We must make it a reality now that a Digil and Mirifle mothers should also believe that she can give birth to a future Somali president” Sharif told MPs in a WhatsApp group he launched to campaign for his presidency bid.
“Now she only believes she can give birth to a Speaker. We have to change that mentality. Your vote can change this” he added.
Political analysts in Somalia say Sharif has strategically been looking for popularity beyond his Digil and Mirifle clan and has been courting MPs from Jubaland promising to back a Speaker candidate from the region to make Daarod candidates succumb to pressure and step away as per the 4.5 system. He is also scouting for a Hawiye Speaker from Galmudug.
Analyst predict that the presidential elections set for later this month may be one of the hotly contested in Somalia’s history.
Sharif will be pegging his hopes on the 70 Digil and Mirifle MPs in the Somalia Parliament as he sets his eyes on Villa Somalia in the presidential elections.
In the occurrence that he loses in the election he has a bargaining power to shif support to an allied candidate as most candidates believe that South West votes are enough to win the presidency
The election timetable indicates that MPs will elect the speaker first before the President. This means if Digil and Mirifle becomes a Speaker Sharif’s hopes of becoming the president will have been shattered according to the 4.5 system.
Swinger votes in Somalia election have mostly been from the Digil and Mirifle and Somaliland with the Hawiye and Daarod enjoying a lion share of the presidential candidates.
Since the creation of the first government after the emergence of the civil war the presidents have been from the Hawiye and Daarod.
