Any signs of progress in Somalia are certainly welcome, and the upcoming parliamentary presidential elections provide at least a glint of hope, even if many of us reserve judgment until those elections come to pass and result in some sort of positive change for virtually stateless Somalia. Nonetheless, even the modest optimism that the presidential vote inspires must be further tempered by the fact that there are at least 14 candidates. It is nearly impossible to imagine an already fractured political context resulting in a leader with widespread legitimacy, never mind any sort of mandate. Obviously this is in the nature of parliamentary democracies. Still, Somalia does not need to re-enforce the country's myriad and seemingly intractable divisions.