Laila Ali Elmi makes history by becoming first Somali-Swedish Lawmaker

STOCKHOLM - Laila Ali Elmi, a former Somali Refugee had made history as she becomes the first Somali-Swedish Muslim woman to become a lawmaker in the Scandinavian country, Garowe Online reports.

Elmi, 30, who lived in Sweden for 28 years, elected to the 349 members of the Riksdag from the Green Party after winning the parliamentary seat during the General elections held on 9th September 2018.

But, the Green party has a little confidence in Ms. Elmi’s victory because of its candidates listed with a very low rate in the race for the majority seats of the national assembly.

With so much anger, she did otherwise. With the party's flag, she has defied the odds and run her sole election campaign in the Somali and other migrants dominated areas in Sweden, especially her constituency.

Using her own Somali language in all Facebook posts, Elmi reached a milestone by garnering at least 1,400 votes, a majority ballot that led her to the journey to the Riksdag and finally became MP.

So this was a dream come true. 

The Somali community in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden, estimated about 14,000 come out in large number and voted for Elmi as she is fighting for the rights of all migrants in her constituency.

The much-celebrated victory of Elmi was a blow to the “nationalist and anti-immigrant party”. Many took to the social media, spreading spurious propaganda that Elmi only represents Somalis, not the entire community.

GAROWE ONLINE