Somaliland eyes recognition as it goes to polls

Voting begins in Somaliland amid regional tensions and hopes for international recognition after 30 years of self-rule.

Voting is under way in presidential elections in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland.

More than 1 million people are expected to cast votes on Wednesday at more than 2,000 polling stations.

Eyeing a controversial deal with Ethiopia and Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency in the United States, candidates have said they hope to finally deliver international recognition for Somaliland after more than three decades of de facto self-rule.

President Muse Bihi Abdi of the ruling Kulmiye Party is seeking a second term after seven years in office, during which he has pushed that recognition bid.

His rivals also support the cause. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the main opposition Waddani Party campaigned on a platform of democratic reforms and social cohesion, while Faisal Ali Warabe of the Justice and Welfare Party advocates for a national unity government.

The vote was originally scheduled for 2022, but legislators opted to extend Bihi’s term by two years.

Controversy over port deal

Occupying a strategic position near the entryway to the Red Sea on the northwest point of Somalia, Somaliland unilaterally declared independence in 1991. It has been more stable and peaceful than the remainder of the country since.

The self-proclaimed republic has its own money, passports, and army. However, it is not recognised by any country in the world, restricting access to international finance and the ability of its six million people to travel.

The government in the capital, Hargeisa, hopes to soon finalise a controversial deal with neighbouring Ethiopia. Signed in January, the deal would grant Addis Ababa sea access. In return, landlocked Ethiopia would provide an “in-depth assessment” of recognition.

The deal aroused fury in Somalia, which views it as a hostile violation of its sovereignty – prompting fears of conflict in the restive region. However, neither of the opposition candidates has criticised the agreement.

Addis Ababa is a major contributor to a peacekeeping force in Somalia fighting against Islamist forces there. But the agreement has drawn Somalia closer to Ethiopia’s historical rivals, Egypt and Eritrea.

Somaliland is also optimistic that the incoming Trump administration will revisit Washington’s longstanding recognition of Mogadishu’s sovereignty over Somaliland.

Several leading State Department officials who worked on Africa policy during Trump’s first term have publicly voiced support for recognising Somaliland.