Presidential elections will be held today in Somaliland, which is causing friction between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Presidential elections are being held today in Somaliland, located in the Horn of Africa.
The candidates have been the sitting president who has been in power since 2017 Muse Bihi. His main opponent is Somalia’s former ambassador to the Soviet Union and Finland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi. The Ucid party is also running Faysal Ali Warabe.
Both Abdullahi and Warabe also have Finnish citizenship.
Somaliland, which is part of Somalia, unilaterally declared itself independent in 1991. It is a stable and peaceful region compared to the rest of Somalia. Somaliland also has its own money, passport and armed forces, but no other country has recognized it.
The elections are held in a situation where tensions in the region have risen. The background is the agreement published by Somaliland and Ethiopia in January, in which Somaliland leases a strip of its Red Sea coast to Ethiopia.
According to Bihi, in return, Ethiopia has promised to recognize the independence of Somaliland. However, Ethiopia has not done so so far, and the details of the agreement have not been made public.
The Memorandum of Understanding between Somaliland and Ethiopia has caused great outrage in Somalia, which has caused friction between Somalia and Ethiopia.