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Somaliland opposition parties say they accept the poll verdict

Storyline:National News
Waddani party presidential contender Abdirahman Irro speaking to the media after casting his vote Nov 13. Photo: VOA

The two opposition parties in Somaliland have said they accepted the presidential results announced yesterday by the Somaliland Electoral Commission in Hargeysa, the capital.

The chairperson of Wadani party Abdirahman Iro welcomed the results after earlier announcement of boycotting it due to several anomalies he cited including intimation and unlawful arrests of his party members and agents, vote rigging among others.

Iro said he buried the hatchet in favour of maintaining peace and good administration in Somaliland

Also Ucid party presidential contender Fesal Ali Warabi also accepted defeat and welcomed the results.

The presidential election of Somaliland whicht took place on the 13th November has been won by the ruling party Kulmiye headed by Musa Bihi ABdi who will replace the incumbent president Ahmed Silanyo.

Kulmiye party garnered 305,909 corresponding to 55.19% while Wadani party scored 40.73% with 226,092 votes while Ucid party received a petty 23,141 votes equivalent to 4.17 %.

An estimated 700,000 votes were registered by the Somaliland Electoral Commission that utilized Iris detection biometric device that is hailed as state of the art technology not used before in the globe.

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. The local constitution limits the number of contending parties to 3 only.