Somalia kicks off long-delayed elections of MPs

Somalia election

A Somali polling agent (right) explains the voting procedure to a voter before she casts her ballot in Baidoa during a past election. PHOTO | AFP

Somalia on Monday began electing lawmakers for its Lower House of Parliament, the next phase in a long-delayed and turbulent process toward a presidential vote that has sometimes turned violent.

The first two lawmakers for the next 275-member lower house of national parliament were elected at a voting ceremony in the capital Mogadishu under heavy security.