Accusations of corruption have surrounded Somalia’s first ever set of elections, as around 13,000 people cast their votes for a new parliament.

The Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation team (FIEIT) and Independent Electoral Disputes Resolution Mechanism (IEDRM) have both reported irregularities in the election process, with widespread accusations of bribery.

“The FIEIT and the IEDRM are concerned by allegations of malpractices,” the two organisations said in a joint statement.

“When investigations confirm that serious malpractices have occurred, the FIEIT and the IEDRM will take appropriate and decisive actions.

“Such actions can and will include nullification of the election results and disqualification of candidates who have committed the malpractices.”

There is a national quota of 30 percent for women who must be voted as MPs, however many experts do not expect this quota to be met.

Voting has closed in the region of Jubbaland, with a total of 10 women out of 43 law-makers voted to parliament, a total of 23 percent.

Some high-level politicians have come under fire over allegations of corruption, as the FIEIT reported issues in Gamaldug state.

The seats won for Mahad Salad, Abdulkadir Gaafow, Mustafa Dhuhlow, and Sadiq Abdikarim a Presidential aide are all being considered for nullicifation.

Joint Somali army and Amisom forces maintained a tight security presence across the country. Al-Shabaab forces, closely linked to al-Qaeda, have been trying to disrupt the elections in recent months through a spate of suicide- and car-bombings.

A car-bomb killed the head of security at the UAE embassy in Mogadishu and injured two others on Thursday. No-one claimed responsibility for the attack, although it bore the hallmarks of an al-Shabaab attack.

SOURCE:ALARABY