(20 Aug 2012) STORYLINE:
Somalia's chief justice swore in 211 new members of parliament on Monday - not in the parliament however but at an open air venue in the airport, the capital's safest location.
The ceremony was moved to Mogadishu's highly protected airport at the last minute after members of parliament asked for increased security.
It was an accomplishment - but one that fell far short of UN hopes that the Horn of Africa nation would seat a full 275-member parliament that would vote in a new president.
Monday was the last day of eight years of Somalia's U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government, the day by which the U.N. repeatedly said a new president would be in place.
But political bickering, violent threats and seat-buying schemes delayed progress, guaranteeing the day would come and go with no new leader in place.
Somalia has seen much progress over the last year. Al-Shabab militants were forced out of Mogadishu in August 2011, allowing businesses to thrive and the arts and sports to return.
However, Mogadishu politics remains an ugly business, as it did in 1991, when the country's last legitimate president was ousted and the country spiralled into bloody chaos.
The International Crisis Group said the current political process has been as undemocratic as the Transitional Federal Government structure it seeks to replace, "with unprecedented levels of political interference, corruption and intimidation."
Somali elders were tasked with naming a parliament, since no election could be held given the state of security around the country. A technical committee disqualified several nominees.
Few of the allegations will surprise the international backers - the U.N., U.S. and EU - heavily involved in the political process.
A report released in June written for the U.N. said that the last government was rife with corruption.
The government allegedly protected a notorious pirate leader and deposited only 3 dollars of every 10 dollars received into state coffers.
A report commissioned by the World Bank published in May similarly found that 68 percent of TFG revenues in 2009-10 were unaccounted for.
Backroom political deals centre not only on who is named to parliament but also which clan will get what office.
The upcoming government will have three powerful positions: president, prime minister and speaker of the parliament. Whatever clan gets a post like speaker, for example, will not be eligible for president.
No one will say when the presidential election will take place because no one knows.
After the president is elected, he must appoint a prime minister who must then assemble a Cabinet that meets the approval of the parliament.
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