Opposition candidate Cirro wins Somaliland presidential election

Somaliland opposition leader Abdirahman Cirro has won the presidential election in the breakaway Somali region, beating incumbent Muse Bihi Abdi.

Cirro, leader of the opposition Waddani party, won 64% of the vote against Bihi's 35%, the Somaliland Electoral Commission announced, according to news outlet Garowe Online reported on Tuesday.

Somaliland has de facto self-rule since 1991, but it has not been recognised by any country.

Somaliland occupies a strategic location at the juncture of the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.

The election took place amid regional tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia over a Red Sea access deal Somaliland signed with Addis Ababa, which angered Mogadishu.

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