Opposition leader wins Somaliland presidential contest

The Somaliland electoral committee announced Tuesday that absorption person Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi “Irro” defeated incumbent Muse Bihi Abdi for the presidency of the breakaway portion located connected the Horn of Africa.

Independent observers described the predetermination arsenic peaceful. Irro, campaigner for the Waddani (National) enactment captured 63.92% of the vote, compared with Bihi’s 34.81%. A 3rd candidate, Faysal Ali Warabe, received 0.74% of the votes.

The predetermination was primitively scheduled to instrumentality spot successful 2022 but was delayed owed to governmental differences.

Bihi, who defeated Irro successful the past predetermination successful 2017, promised during the run that helium would respect the results of the election.

Irro ran connected a level of change, promising to make a brighter aboriginal for the radical of Somaliland, including much enactment and occupation opportunities for women.

Somaliland successful 1991 declared its independency from Somalia, which views it arsenic a bluish breakaway region, not a abstracted nation.

Its determination adjacent Djibouti puts it adjacent to the lone imperishable U.S. subject basal successful Africa and the archetypal overseas basal for China.

Both Bihi and Irro said they anticipation the incoming medication of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump volition reappraisal argumentation toward Somaliland. The U.S. and Somaliland bash not person diplomatic relations. The U.S. recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia wrong its 1960 borders.

Irro precocious posted messages of congratulations to Trump aft his victory.

“We Somalilanders are thrilled with your bold policies towards Somaliland and look guardant to strengthening the #Somaliland-US Partnership, arsenic the President Aspirant, I look guardant to promoting and contributing to a much stable, peaceful, and prosperous East Africa and the Red Sea,” Irro said.

The International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) to Somaliland’s statesmanlike elections said the elections took spot successful a “mostly calm and peaceful situation wherever registered voters were capable to workout their close to ballot during the day.”

IEOM said it did not observe immoderate superior irregularities oregon electoral malpractice, though observers noticed procedural and administrative inconsistencies that could beryllium addressed by amended training.

The ngo said it “identified a fig of issues that electoral authorities could code including making definite that the secrecy of the ballot is upheld successful aboriginal elections and that the elector registry is updated much regularly and person to the holding of elections to guarantee it is up-to-date.”

“In addition, voters request to beryllium amended informed astir voting procedures,” the ngo added successful an appraisal of the election.

Who is the caller president?

Abdirahman Irro, arsenic helium is commonly referred to, was calved connected April 29, 1955, successful Hargeisa, Somalia. After completing his secondary schoolhouse acquisition astatine Sheikh precocious schoolhouse adjacent Burao town, helium moved to Mogadishu for higher education.

He has a diploma from the Somali Institute of Development Administration and Management, and SIDAM/California State University and helium earned an MBA from SIDAM/New York State University, according to the Waddani party’s website.

He speaks Somali, English, Arabic, Russian and Finnish, the enactment said.

In 1981 helium was employed by Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs arsenic a diplomat. During his clip there, helium worked astatine the Somali embassy successful Moscow, earlier moving to Finland to unrecorded with his family.

He started starring Somaliland assemblage organizations successful Finland earlier helium returned to Somaliland successful 1999 to articulation politics. He was elected to the Somaliland Parliament successful 2005, and became the talker for the archetypal democratically elected Parliament, a presumption helium held for 12 years.

In 2012, helium co-founded the Waddani governmental enactment and was chosen arsenic its archetypal president arsenic good arsenic the statesmanlike campaigner for the 2017 election.

Following parliamentary elections successful 2021, Waddani go the bulk enactment successful parliament.

According to quality rights lawyer and expert Guleid Ahmed Jama, the predetermination shows the spot of Somaliland’s democracy.

“After 2 years of governmental contention and predetermination delays that resulted successful governmental violence, the palmy completion of the electoral process is bully news,” helium said.

“However, it does not lick the galore problems Somaliland is facing. There are large tasks up of the president-elect. I judge a authorities of nationalist unity tin salvage Somaliland and unite the divided and polarized people. The president-elect should not dainty this arsenic a win-lose scenario. He should travel up with a program to unite the people.”