Somalia PM asks peacekeepers to secure parliamentary speaker vote

FILE PHOTO: Somalia's Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble attends the Somali election negotiation in Mogadishu, Somalia May 27, 2021 REUTERS/Feisal Omar/File Photo

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister has asked African Union soldiers to take over protection of lawmakers as they pick new leadership, after warning police and intelligence officials not to interfere in the long-overdue elections.

Somalia's long-delayed election process has been beset by Islamist violence and a power struggle between President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble.