The Fort Worth Press - Somaliland to vote amid Horn of Africa tensions

USD -
AED 3.672965
AFN 67.838392
ALL 92.377753
AMD 386.688871
ANG 1.800698
AOA 913.510149
ARS 997.787559
AUD 1.532227
AWG 1.8015
AZN 1.703542
BAM 1.840129
BBD 2.017388
BDT 119.39484
BGN 1.843255
BHD 0.376938
BIF 2950.605261
BMD 1
BND 1.337248
BOB 6.928346
BRL 5.7472
BSD 0.999144
BTN 84.369678
BWP 13.59321
BYN 3.269728
BYR 19600
BZD 2.013907
CAD 1.395219
CDF 2869.000317
CHF 0.88236
CLF 0.035638
CLP 983.550088
CNY 7.2092
COP 4436.5
CRC 511.286119
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 103.742697
CZK 23.79525
DJF 177.924558
DKK 7.01597
DOP 60.208316
DZD 133.819365
EGP 49.332705
ETB 123.478326
EUR 0.940475
FJD 2.263007
GBP 0.78435
GEL 2.740212
GHS 16.285152
GMD 71.499751
GNF 8611.175145
GTQ 7.720606
GYD 209.01701
HKD 7.77855
HNL 25.215231
HTG 131.419485
HUF 384.481505
IDR 15725
ILS 3.74243
INR 84.382498
IQD 1308.851756
IRR 42104.999992
ISK 139.080114
JMD 158.767795
JOD 0.7092
JPY 154.815499
KES 129.249753
KGS 86.197294
KHR 4048.796323
KMF 460.375006
KRW 1398.050212
KWD 0.30756
KYD 0.832581
KZT 495.813105
LAK 21907.960971
LBP 89472.248097
LKR 292.168873
LRD 188.329711
LSL 18.052427
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.840941
MAD 9.911843
MDL 17.884664
MGA 4670.637273
MKD 57.934971
MMK 3247.960992
MOP 8.005344
MRU 39.705121
MUR 47.189637
MVR 15.460116
MWK 1732.200487
MXN 20.518202
MYR 4.447983
MZN 63.925018
NAD 18.051918
NGN 1676.549997
NIO 36.770621
NOK 11.062555
NPR 134.99873
NZD 1.686125
OMR 0.385012
PAB 0.999078
PEN 3.775893
PGK 4.01385
PHP 58.612997
PKR 277.683782
PLN 4.084953
PYG 7806.663468
QAR 3.64259
RON 4.679899
RSD 109.992009
RUB 98.502276
RWF 1371.17641
SAR 3.757346
SBD 8.351256
SCR 13.62081
SDG 601.524357
SEK 10.89506
SGD 1.336305
SLE 22.800781
SOS 571.033393
SRD 35.234971
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.742614
SZL 18.043677
THB 34.6303
TJS 10.620208
TMT 3.5
TND 3.141024
TOP 2.342098
TRY 34.358099
TTD 6.789548
TWD 32.419502
TZS 2661.864962
UAH 41.382279
UGX 3671.15761
UYU 42.122199
UZS 12792.683443
VES 44.995376
VND 25345
XAF 617.19122
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.752722
XOF 617.19122
XPF 112.21355
YER 249.774947
ZAR 18.001575
ZMK 9001.215562
ZMW 27.201475
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    59.3400

    59.34

    +100%

  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    24.54

    -0.73%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0500

    7.11

    -0.7%

  • NGG

    -1.2400

    62.9

    -1.97%

  • RELX

    -1.2100

    46.59

    -2.6%

  • VOD

    -0.8500

    8.47

    -10.04%

  • BP

    -0.7600

    28.16

    -2.7%

  • RIO

    -1.4000

    61.2

    -2.29%

  • BTI

    0.0900

    35.24

    +0.26%

  • GSK

    -0.8300

    35.52

    -2.34%

  • CMSD

    -0.2100

    24.75

    -0.85%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    13.67

    +0.15%

  • JRI

    -0.3000

    13.22

    -2.27%

  • AZN

    0.4000

    65.19

    +0.61%

  • BCC

    -2.0100

    141.13

    -1.42%

  • BCE

    -0.1600

    27.69

    -0.58%

Somaliland to vote amid Horn of Africa tensions
Somaliland to vote amid Horn of Africa tensions / Photo: © AFP

Somaliland to vote amid Horn of Africa tensions

Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia at the centre of a diplomatic storm, will hold a presidential election on Wednesday at a tense moment in the Horn of Africa.

Text size:

The territory on the northwest point of Somalia unilaterally declared independence in 1991 and has been far more stable and peaceful than the rest of the country since then.

The self-proclaimed republic has its own money, passports, and army, but has never been recognised by any country in the world.

Now, it has become the focus of a major dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia that international observers fear could spark conflict in the restive region.

In January, Somaliland president Muse Bihi signed an agreement with Ethiopia, offering a lease on 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its Red Sea coastline to its land-locked neighbour.

He says Ethiopia will recognise Somaliland in return, though this has never been confirmed by Addis Ababa and full details of the deal have never been made public.

The memorandum of understanding has aroused fury in Somalia, sparking a verbal and military escalation with Ethiopia that has alarmed the international community.

- 'Main agenda' -

Bihi's opponents for the presidency, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and Faysal Ali Warabe, have not criticised the agreement.

In power since 2017, the 76-year-old Bihi of the Kulmiye party has pledged there will be progress on the deal if he is re-elected.

"That's his main argument, his main agenda in the election," said local lawyer and political analyst Guleid Ahmed Jama.

But Jama said the economy and peaceful stability were more important to the impoverished territory's 1.2 million voters.

While pre-election street rallies have been a lively riot of myriad colours, the campaign has often been heated, with the opposition for example accusing Bihi of dividing Somaliland.

An opposition supporter, Hood Abdullahi Adan, told AFP that the region had "gone backwards" during Bihi's seven years in power, listing "conflict, inflation and hunger" among its problems.

Critics accuse Bihi, a former soldier who led the fight for independence, of an authoritarian rule that has created clan divisions and led to the loss of the Sool region in 2023 after months of clashes with pro-Mogadishu forces.

There were also protests -- violently suppressed by the government -- after Bihi delayed the election by two years in 2022 for "technical and financial reasons".

Bihi's main rival is Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi -- known as "Irro" -- of the Waddani party.

A former ambassador of Somalia to the then Soviet Union and Finland, and a long-time speaker of the Somaliland parliament, the 68-year-old offers few concrete policy changes but says he will be a more unifying figure.

"There is not much visible difference between, ideologically speaking, the two main political parties. But there are differences between the personalities of the contenders. And that's very important here in Somaliland," said Jama.

A.Maldonado--TFWP