Musa Bihi Abdi of the ruling Kulmiye party was declared the winner of Somaliland’s presidential election on Tuesday, by the election commission of the breakaway region. Situated at the northern tip of east Africa on the Gulf of Aden – one of the busiest trade routes in the world – Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 and has been relatively peaceful since. The region of 4 million people has not been internationally recognized but it has recently drawn in sizeable investments from the Gulf. In the election, Abdi won just over 55 percent of the vote, while opposition leader Abdirahman Iro took nearly 41 percent, election commission chairman Iman Warsame said. Turnout was 80 percent.
In a debate before last week’s vote, Abdi pledged to boost women’s participation in politics and introduce compulsory national service for high school and university graduates.
There was no immediate comment from Iro, whose opposition party Waddani had accused Kulmiye of vote-rigging although it has not given evidence.
Full Article: Somaliland picks ruling party’s candidate as new president.
