Somaliland announce voter registration date for long-awaited presidential elections

Somaliland has announced a date for the start of voter registrations in upcoming presidential elections for the breakaway region.

The registration process will begin on 28 December, outgoing President Muse Bihi Abdi said in a statement posted online on Sunday.

Elections were initially scheduled to take place when Abdi's term was due to end on 13 November, but were postponed in September due to "time, technical and financial constraints".

One million voters are expected to have their say in the upcoming elections.

In August protests, resulting in fatalities, broke out in the region demanding elections to be held in November amid suspicions the poll would be delayed.

When the postponement was announced, opposition parties began to criticise the outgoing president and his legitimacy.

Following the announcement, in October the House of Elders in Somalia's northern region extended Abdi's term by two years.

Somaliland, a region of more than 3 million people strategically located by the Gulf of Aden, broke away from Somalia in 1991 as the country collapsed into warlord-led conflict.

The region has maintained its own government, currency, and security system despite its lack of international recognition.

Over the years, Somaliland has largely succeeded in holding regular elections, including parliamentary elections last year.

Musa Bihi Abdi was elected president of Somaliland in December 2017.