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FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8350 
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 0006 
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 000172 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS KDEM SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Sheikh Sharif Elected President 
 
REF: Djibouti 88 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On January 31, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was 
elected President of Somalia's Transitional Federal 
Government. The first round of voting by the newly- 
enlarged parliament ended the night of January 30, with 
Sharif garnering significantly more votes than the other 
ten contenders. Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein "Nur 
Adde" came in third place, one vote behind Maslah Mohamed 
Siyad, the son of former president Siad Barre. In a 
demonstration of statesmanship and political maturity, 
Nur Adde conceded the election and did not participate in 
the second and final round of voting. Four of the six 
frontrunners who would have gone to the second round also 
conceded, leaving only Sharif and Siyad in round two. 
Sharif went on to beat Siyad handily, 293 to 126, in 
second round. On early afternoon January 31, Sharif was 
sworn in as President. He pledged to unify all Somalis 
in a quest for peace and stability and to provide honest 
leadership. In his remarks, Sheikh Sharif offered special 
thanks to the USG for its support. In a pre-inauguration 
meeting, President Sharif welcomed USG support for a 
government of national unity. He echoed "Nur Adde's" 
earlier conversations with us in requesting USG support 
for the joint security forces. The new President also 
asked that we work actively to allay any reservations the 
Government of Ethiopia might have about his presidency. 
End summary. 
 
Sheikh Sharif 
By a Significant Margin 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) With second-round votes counted at about 5:00 
a.m., January 31, Alliance for the Re-liberation of 
Somalia (ARS) Chairman Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed emerged 
as the new President of the Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG). At the end of the first round of 
voting, Sheikh Sharif had emerged with a significant lead 
over his ten rivals. (Shortly before round one, three of 
the original fifteen candidates withdrew from the 
election.) The results of the first round of voting were: 
 
-- Sheikh Sharif Ahmed - 215 
-- Maslah Mohamed Siyad - 60 
-- Nur Hassan Hussein "Nur Adde" - 59 
-- Ali Khalif Galaydh - 31 
-- Mohamed Osman Aden - 25 
-- Abdirahman Abdi Hussein - 10 
-- Ahmed Hashi Mahmoud - 9 
-- Awad Ahmed Asharo - 5 
-- Muse Moalin Yusuf - 4 
-- Yusuf Omar Al Azhari - 2 
-- Ali Hashi Dhoore - 2 
 
¶3. (SBU) While Sharif emerged from round one the clear 
victor, he failed to win the two-thirds majority need to 
clinch the election on the first round. (Note: 425 MPs 
cast their ballots and there were three spoiled ballots 
which were discarded). According to the Transitional 
Federal Charter, the six highest scoring candidates 
proceed to the second round. Demonstrating statesmanship 
and political maturity, Nur Adde conceded the election 
during the interval between rounds one and two. Galaydh, 
Adan, and Hussein followed suit, leaving only Sheikh Sharif 
and Maslah Mohamed Siyad, the son of former Somalia 
President Siad Barre, to contest the second and final 
round. At about 5:00 a.m. (local), January 31, it was 
announced that Sheikh Sharif had won the election, with 
290 votes to only 126 votes for Siyad. 
 
Transparent 
Election Process 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (U) While some participants complained that the 
electoral process had been skewed by allowing the new 
ARS-appointed MPs to vote, there was no criticism of the 
voting itself. For both the first and second rounds, each 
MP was called by name to the front of the People's Palace 
where they were given a ballot which they completed in 
curtained voting booths in full view of the parliament, 
electoral committee, international observers, and the media. 
(The event was televised live by Djibouti television.) 
Each ballot was then placed in transparent boxes which never 
left the head table. During the five hours that the voting 
was taking place, the doors to the hall were locked and 
security restricted access. The Speaker, Deputy Speaker, 
and Parliamentary Commission for Presidential Elections 
(PCPE) oversaw the process. Ballots were counted in full 
view of the audience. All of the election observers, including 
three from the Somalia Affairs Unit, agreed that the entire 
process was transparent. 
 
Meeting with 
Sheikh Sharif 
------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Prior to the swearing-in ceremony on January 
31, Ambassador Yates and other members of the Unit met 
as the first representatives of the international community 
with President Sharif. Ambassador Yates congratulated Sharif 
on his victory and recalled that his good working relationship 
with Sharif had begun in early 2007. He indicated the 
willingness of the USG to continue to work with Sharif and 
his government to advance mutual interests, highlighting 
our significant support for AMISOM and the Joint Security Committee. 
Ambassador Yates encouraged Sharif to act quickly in 
implementing clear structures through which we can more 
effectively channel support. He also highlighted our 
massive humanitarian assistance, and hoped that security 
would improve so that it could become development 
assistance instead. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Sharif in turn offered a warm welcome and 
thanked the USG for its full support of the Djibouti 
Process. He hoped that our bilateral relationship would 
become stronger, noting "We can achieve anything if we 
work together." Sharif promised to advance our mutual 
interests, without reservation and noted that he would 
spend the coming days in consultation about the 
appointment of a prime minister. Sharif asked for 
immediate support for joint security forces, declaring 
that his goal was to create one army, under one state. 
Every Somali who wanted to peacefully cooperate would be 
welcomed into the Djibouti process, he said. 
 
¶7. (SBU) President Sharif told us that he would like to 
see Somalia become a good neighbor in the region. Sharif 
requested USG assistance in developing a productive 
relationship with Ethiopia. He expressed gratitude for 
the USG's support of the Djibouti Process, the elections, 
and the people of Somalia. 
 
The Inauguration 
---------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Sheikh Sharif was sworn in as President in a 
ceremony on January 31 at a hotel in Djibouti in front of 
the Parliament, diplomatic community, and the media. 
Representatives from IGAD, the African Union, European 
Commission, European Union, Arab League, and Organization 
of the Islamic Conference focused on the historic nature 
of the occasion and the importance of SharifQs good 
leadership in ensuring the successful next phase of the 
peace and transition processes. Most of the speakers 
praised Nur Adde, in particular his statesmanship during 
the election. Ambassador Yates delivered remarks on 
behalf of the USG. He and Djibouti's Minister of 
Religious Affairs were the only country representatives 
invited to speak at the ceremony. 
 
¶9. (U) President Sharif's inauguration remarks highlighted 
many of the themes he had touched on in his earlier meeting 
with Ambassador Yates. In his remarks, he thanked in 
particluar Djiboutian President Gelle and the United States for 
their support. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Sheikh Sharif's landslide victory was made 
possible by the discipline of newly-appointed ARS MPs, 
unhappiness among some TFG MPs with Nur Adde's decision 
to expand the Parliament and award two hundred seats 
to the ARS, as well as the former Prime Minister's 
lackluster campaign. Also undercutting Nur Adde was 
continued unhappiness among some of the Darod 
with President Yusuf's forced resignation, and the 
failure of Nur Adde to reach out to Darod clan members in 
the aftermath of Yusuf's departure. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Maslah Siyad's decision to wage a longshot 
battle for election in round two, according to his 
advisers, was motivated by the hope that he 
could somehow collect all of the votes that had gone to 
all candidates except Sheikh Sharif in round one, and use 
his Marehan credentials to cause defections among Darod 
MPs who had cast their votes for Sheikh Sharif. In the event 
that strategy failed, Siyad hoped that a strong showing 
in round two would give him a better hand in negotiating 
for positions in a Sharif government. Neither outcome 
occurred and Sheikh Sharif was handed an even more convincing 
victory in round two. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Conversations with Ethiopian representatives on 
the margins of the elections suggest that Sheikh Sharif's 
concern about the GoE's reaction to his election is not 
misplaced, and that efforts by the USG to allay any GoE 
would be useful. 
Ranneberger