On Saturday, the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland voted to extend President Muse Bihi Abdi’s term by two years, according to Somaliland senate’s chairman Saleeban Mahmoud Aden.
The senate’s chairman said that the votes were 72-1 in favor of extending the term.
Abdi took office in 2017, his first term out of two possible was scheduled to end this November.
On 24 September Somaliland's presidential elections were officially postponed until 2023 “because of lack of time, technical and financial constraints," the Somaliland National Electoral Commission (SLNEC) tweeted.
Earlier, opposition parties expressed their concerns that the president was going to seek a term extension by creating circumstances that would give him opportunity to do so. These concerns resulted in protests in August.
In the middle of August, hundreds of demonstrators, led by the president's opposition filled the streets of Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa and the cities of Burao and Erigavo.
The protesters were chanting anti-government slogans and waving placards saying “Hold the election on 13 November 2022”.
Somaliland, a region of almost 4 million people, located in northern Somalia, declared itself an independent state in 1991. Though not officially recognized by any country or international organization, Somaliland has a government, currency, army and electoral system.