Opposition wins election in Somaliland, signals dialogue with Somalia: What we know
Somaliland's opposition leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, has won the presidential election, unseating the incumbent president who held office for seven years.
Somaliland’s electoral commission on Tuesday declared Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, or Irro, an opposition leader from the Waddani Party, the winner of its 2024 presidential election. Irro won more than 60% of the vote.
After a two-year delay, Somaliland’s fourth presidential election since 1991 — when the region split from Somalia — took place on Nov. 13. Roughly 650,000 Somalis cast their votes out of 1.2 million registered voters, a lower turnout than expected.
Irro received 63.92% of the vote; incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi received 34.81%; and the third candidate, Faisal Ali Warabe of the UCID (Justice and Welfare) Party, received 0.74%, according to the Somaliland National Electoral Commission.
Abdi, of the ruling Kulmiye (Peace, Unity and Development) Party, sought a second five-year term after holding the presidency for seven years, serving an initial five-year term and then two extra years after he delayed the election in 2022. After casting his vote on Nov. 13, Abdi promised to accept the results of the election.
