Voting begins as Somaliland chooses its next leader

Nearly 900,000 voters in the unrecognised country of Somaliland are going to the polls today to elect a president following a week of campaigning.

Polling began at 07:00 (O4:00 GMT) and is expected to end at 18:00 (15:00 GMT) with results to be announced within a week.

More than 873,000 people have registered to cast their vote at 1,600 polling stations across the territory.

More than 25 years ago, after a ferocious civil war, north-west Somalia broke away from the rest of the country and declared its independence.

Somaliland is not officially recognised as a sovereign state, but it has achieved relative stability since it declared independence in 1991.

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Polling stations were crowded from the early hours of the day, with some voters queuing from dawn.

The government of President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Silanyo” is stepping down – so the stakes in this election are high.

Three candidates are vying to replace Silanyo: Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro (Waddani party), Faysal Ali Warabe (UCID party), and Muse Bihi Abdi (Kulmiye party).

All parties have claimed confidence in the election procedure and the transition is expected to be peaceful.

Sixty international observers from 27 countries have been invited to oversee the elections by Somaliland’s electoral authorities.