Tonight was a historic night in Somalia: presidential elections were held in Mogadishu for the first time in more than 40 years. But there is something else that is also very important because it did not happen: there were no major Shabab attacks in Mogadishu or near the election venue, as I had expected they would try to carry out some as they tried to attack the venue where the constitution was being approved several weeks ago. This suggests the Shabab are losing their ability to carry out mass-casualty attacks deep in government-held Mogadishu. They settled for hand grenade attacks in areas very far from the election venue near the Mogadishu Airport. If this government becomes as bad as the outgoing one, it is a plus for the Shabab.