An Ethiopian-backed warlord, Abdullahi Yusuf, was elected president of Somalia by lawmakers on Sunday in the 14th attempt in a decade to restore government to that lawless country. The National Assembly speaker, Sharif Hassan Sheik Adan, announced the choice to the lawmakers meeting as an electoral college here in neighboring Kenya, saying that Mr. Yusuf won 189 votes against 79 for his main opponent, Abdullahi Addou. Two ballots were spoiled.Mr. Yusuf will head a transitional federal government that will try to move Somalia, a nation of 10 million people that has not had a functioning government in more than a decade, toward elections under a new constitution in five years. Rival militias hold power in various parts of the country, which is seen by American officials as a haven for militants suspected of links to Al Qaeda. The country remains so dangerous that the interim Parliament held its vote for president across the border in Nairobi. Full Story
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