Somalilandsun: The long-awaited Somaliland elections resulted in the surprise victory of Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.
Official results released on 19 November showed that Abdirahman won 63.92% of the vote, while incumbent president Muse Bihi Abdi received only 34.81%.
The election was considered a landslide opposition-win. Waddani had been politically paralyzed for almost two decades. Abdullahi reacted in a conciliatory tone stating that “everyone had won” and that “no one was defeated”, and that it was “an election of brotherhood, aimed at unifying the people”.
This is according to Martin Duffy who served as international observer for Somaliland’s Presidential elections on 13 November 2024.
In his piece published by E International Relations and titled Somaliland’s Democratic Journey the author surmises that With polls being delayed for two years, the incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi of the Kulmiye party sought a final term in office against the opposition candidates, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the Waddani party, and Faysal Ali Warabe of the UCID party. These presidentials, scored a turnout of over one million people with voters spreading across over two thousand polling stations. They marked the fourth election in the de-facto nation’s history. The Las Anod conflict to Somaliland’s east which had delayed the election, ubiquitous poverty, and finding some solution to Somaliland’s lack of international status- were key electoral issues.
Abdi’s campaign focused on gathering diplomatic recognition for Somaliland, while Abdullahi’s focused more on democratic reforms and social cohesion. Warabe’s concentrated on national unity. Somaliland’s representative to Kenya, M.A. Mohamoud, had created something of a news-storm during the election by referring to promised American support for the fledgling nation. Indeed Donald Trump, who had been elected as US President days prior, had been quoted by the Heritage Foundation as potentially backing Somaliland independence. The election was also set to decide if a controversial deal with Ethiopia offering the landlocked-nation sea-access via the Port of Berbera, in exchange for recognition talks, might be expedited. It was thus a potentially landmark election.
Click to Continue reading Somaliland’s Democratic Journey
