Somali lawmakers have elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new president of Somalia.

Mr. Mohamud defeated incumbent leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a third-round run-off vote in Mogadishu.

The final tally was not immediately announced, but election watchers said Mr. Mohamud won by a comfortable margin.

The election reflects a final step in a U.N.-backed plan to create a more effective government in Somalia after two decades of war and chaos.

Two-hundred-seventy-one members of Somalia's recently-formed parliament took part in the election.

Mr. Mohamud and Mr. Ahmed were the last candidates standing after a day of voting that began with 22 presidential hopefuls.

The new president is 56-years old, a lifelong civil-society activist and leader of the Peace and Development Party.