hadhwanaag
Lawmakers
in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland have extended President Muse Bihi
Abdi's current term of office by two years ahead of its expiration in November,
the senate chairman said Saturday.
The
region's electoral body said last month it had postponed a presidential
election due in November to 2023 because of time and financial constraints,
among other reasons.
It was
unclear whether that poll has now been scrapped.
Saleeban
Mahmoud Aden, Somaliland's senate chairman, said 72 members of parliament voted
Saturday to extend Abdi's term by a "two-year period." One MP
objected.
In
August, deadly protests by opposition supporters broke out in the region with
demonstrators demanding elections be held in November amid suspicions the
president wanted to delay the poll and extend his term.
There
was no immediate reaction from the opposition to the parliament's extension of
the president's term.
Somaliland
broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international
recognition for its independence. The region has been mostly peaceful while
Somalia has grappled with three decades of civil war.
VOA
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