Mogadishu (Alshahid)-Somalia’s newly selected lawmakers is set to elect a president as the eight-year UN-backed mandate of the ruling Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in the country has come to an end.

A selection committee has named about 220 lawmakers for the 275-seat body, but officials say that is enough for the parliament to convene.

The lawmakers are expected to vote for a new Somali president within the coming days.

Running for presidency are dozens of candidates including incumbent Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.

The election will complete a complex process set in motion through a UN-backed agreement aimed at ending eight years of rule by Somalia’s graft-riddled, Western-backed TFG and, it is hoped, will bring peace.

Outgoing president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, in power since 2009, is one of the favourites for the top job, though he cuts a controversial figure with Western observers.

Last month, an 825-member Constituent Assembly passed a new provisional constitution.

Since the outbreak of a civil war in Somalia in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country’s territory.