Polls open in Somaliland presidential election

By Mohamed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Polling stations across Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland opened for a presidential election on Wednesday.

The incumbent, President Muse Bihi Abdi, of the ruling Kulmiye party and candidates Abdirahman Irro of the main opposition party Wadan and Faysal Ali Warabe, the leader of the opposition UCID party, are vying for the presidency.

Voters started arriving at the polling stations early in the morning to choose their president for the next five years. Polling started at 7 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) and will continue until 6 p.m.

The Somaliland National Electoral Commission said over 1 million registered voters are set to participate in the election.

The vote comes as regional tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia over Somaliland Red Sea access deal with Ethiopia still remain tense.

Somaliland is a former British protectorate in northwestern Somalia that declared independence in 1991, but has received no international recognition.