700,000 voters to cast vote for president in Somaliland next month

A total of 704, 089 voters will take part in presidential elections in Somaliland set for next month, the region’s electoral body announced Monday.

The elections which have been severally postponed will take place November 13 covering six electoral regions divided into 23 districts. The commission had announced March it had concluded the registration of 873,331 voters.

The regions are Sool, Sanaag, Maroodi-Jeex, Togdherer and Awdal. Both Sool and Sanag are contested between Somaliland and Puntland.

The presidential election was initially set for 2015 but was postponed to early 2017 before the region’s parliament settled for November following international pressure. Parliamentary and civic seats elections will be held next year.

Incumbent president Ahmed Silanyo will not be defending his seat but his pick Muse Bihi from Kulmiye party will instead be contesting. Others are long serving former House speaker Abdirahman Iro (Wadani party) and Fesal Ali Warabe (Uud party).

The presidential election is a first-past-the-post (FPTP) system in which the winning candidate is the one with the most votes. The President and the Vice-President are elected jointly. Somaliland’s constitution limits the number of political parties to a maximum of three.