First and Second Deputy Senate Speakers elected in tightly contested race

First Deputy Speaker of the Senate Abshir Ahmed Bukhari addressing the House after his election Sunday. Photo: Goobjoog News|January 22, 2017 — First Deputy Speaker of the Senate Abshir Ahmed Bukhari addressing the House after his election Sunday. Senator Moulid Hussein Guhaad was elected second deputy speaker. Photo: Goobjoog News|January 22, 2017

Galmudug Senator Abshir Bukhari beat six other candidates in a hotly contested election which ran into the third round Sunday to become the country’s first deputy speaker of the senate which will now jointly with the Lower House elect the next occupant of Villa Somalia.

Bukhari battled through the third round to wrestle off his close opponent Abdi Ahmed Dhuhulow also from Galmudug who inched closer in the second round garnering 17 votes up from 14 in the first round. In the first round, Bukhari opened the gap with 17 votes before adding two more in the second round.

Mohamed Ahmed Mashruuh from Puntland added five votes in the second round to jump from 11 votes in the first round before bowing out leaving the contest for Bukhari and Dhuhulow in the third round.

Senator Bukhari who was the first senator to be elected in the October polls pulled away in the third round amassing the remaining votes to close the poll with 30 votes as his erstwhile opponent Dhuhulow came second place with 22 votes.

First Deputy Speaker Senator Bukhari who was Goobjoog Media Group Chief Executive Officer before his election as senator will now directly deputise Senate Speaker Abdi Hashi Abdullahi who was also elected Sunday.

Bukhari worked previously with the British broadcaster BBC and the Qatari based news channel Al Jazeera. He was Chief of Staff at Villa Somalia during Sheikh Ahmed Shariff administration which lasted between 2009 and 2012.

Meanwhile former military man Moulid Hussein Guhaad from Jubbaland was elected second deputy speaker in a contest which also featured seven contestants. Guhaad beat his opponent Abdikafi Mohamed Hassan from South West state who was tipped to win after coming first in round one with 14 votes.

Guhaad scored 28 votes to win in the third round against Hassan who came second with 24 votes. Guhaad joined the military academy in the 1970s and rose to be a colonel and served as head of logistics in the Somali National Army between 1980 and 1990. He later acquired a degree in lnternational Logistics in Finland and ventured into business.

His businesses include Wamo Energy Company, an electricity generating company in Jubbaland.