HARGEISA (Halbeeg News) – Hundreds of thousands have this morning went to cast their votes to elect members of parliament and local councillors for the first time in more than decade.
The voters will be casting their vote in 2,709 polling centres within the territory of Somaliland.
According to the electoral commission, SLNEC, 246 candidates are vying for a seat in the 82 member House of Representatives while 552 candidates will be contesting in the local government elections spread in 23 districts.
The election will be a first for many Somalilanders.
“I cannot wait to cast my vote,” says 15-year-old Yasmin Abdi who spoke to BBC. “I feel like a proper grown-up now, almost like I own part of my country.”
Meanwhile, observers from the region and beyond have trooped to the break-away region.
Notable figures include former Sierra Leone president Ernest Koroma and former Ugandan opposition chief Kizza Besigye.
Foreign missions with their presence in Somalia are also sending representatives.
Somaliland, a region in northern Somalia has declared its secession from the rest of Somalia in 1990s.
The region has been experiencing relative peace for the last three decades but failed to secure international recognition.
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