This archive report was first published on 30 September 2021.
On 29 September 2021, delegates from Somalia's northern region of Somaliland elected six senators to serve in the next Federal Parliament, in spite of Somaliland's declaration of independence.
The vote, held in Mogadishu, saw 46 delegates from the region elect six legislators, who will nonetheless cement Somalia's hold on Somaliland as part of its territory.
Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, the Speaker of the outgoing Senate, won the first seat with 44 votes, while two delegates abstained. His opponent, Said Omar Hussein, had quit the race before the voting, indicating that Abdullahi ran unopposed.
Abdullahi's victory was significant, as he had previously bickered with Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Gulaid over the electoral team, delaying the polls. Both the outgoing Speaker and the deputy prime minister are senior officials from Somaliland, a region that has claimed independence from Somalia since 1993 but is not recognized by any sovereign state.
Despite Somaliland's rejection of any association with Somalia's politics, the election of the representatives from Somaliland was a significant step towards smoothing the path for Somalia's next elections for the Lower House representatives.
