The opposition chief of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, has received the space’s presidential election.

Extra popularly referred to as Irro, he received with 64% of the vote to turn into Somaliland’s 6th president because it needful clear of Somalia in 1991.

The 69-year-old, a former speaker of Somaliland’s parliament, beat incumbent Musa Abdi Bihi, who took 35% of the vote.

Bihi had led the breakaway area since 2017, however critics described his taste as paternalistic and dismissive of folk opinion at a month when financial difficulties have undermined the worth of the native forex.

Diplomats from 9 Eu international locations and the United States witnessed the vote on 13 November, which had at first been scheduled to remove playground in past due 2022.

Somaliland is situated in a strategic a part of the sector, and is viewable as a gateway to the Gulf of Aden and the Crimson Sea.

Regardless of its relative balance and habitual democratic elections, it has no longer been recognised across the world.

But even so the economic system, Somaliland’s brandnew chief must grapple with the diplomatic fallout over a trade in to hire landlocked Ethiopia a 20km (12-mile) category of its beach for fifty years to arrange a naval bottom.

As a part of the assurance, introduced on Unutilized Occasion’s Year, Somaliland expects to be recognised through Addis Ababa as an detached society.

This has dissatisfied Somalia, which regards Somaliland as a part of its space – and it has stated it perspectives the trade in as an employment of aggression.

The previous British protectorate of Somaliland joined the extra of Somalia on 1 July 1960.

In a warfare chief as much as the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991, tens of hundreds of population have been killed in Somaliland and its major town of Hargeisa used to be totally flattened in aerial bombardments.

Within the chaos that adopted Barre’s retirement, Somaliland declared its sovereignty and has since rebuilt the town, created its personal forex, establishments and safety constructions.

That is frequently contrasted to Somalia, which collapsed into anarchy for many years and nonetheless faces many demanding situations, together with from Islamist militants, and does no longer stock direct elections.

Born in Hargeisa, Irro went to university in Somalia and upcoming attended faculty in the United States – graduating with a grasp’s stage in industry management.

Then college he pursued a diplomatic profession, becoming a member of Somalia’s overseas provider in 1981.

He used to be posted to Moscow the place he labored at Somalia’s embassy. All through the civil struggle, he become the rustic’s appearing ambassador to the previous Soviet Union.

Many population fled Somalia all through the warfare, which tore the society aside, together with Irro’s society who was at are living in Finland.

He used to be ready to be reunited with them there and acquired Finnish citizenship.

Irro returned to Somaliland a number of years upcoming, coming into politics in 2002 as co-founder of the opposition Justice and Welfare birthday celebration (UCID).

He went directly to lend as speaker of the parliament for 12 years.

It used to be all through this month that he established the Wadani Birthday celebration, which has grown to be an impressive political power in Somaliland and on whose price tag he received the 2024 elections.

Backup reporting through BBC Tracking.