Irro Beats Incumbent Bihi to Become Somaliland’s 6th President

GOOBJOOG NEWS|HARGEISA: Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi ‘Irro’ has been elected as the new President of Abdullahi ending a long running leadership of the Kulmiye party.

According to official results from the Somaliland National Independent Commission (SLNEC), Irro from the Waddani party garnered 63% of the vote while his opponent, the outgoing President Muse Abdi Bihi trailed with 34.81% of the votes.

Born in 1956, Irro has served variously in Somaliland’s political process. In 2002, he co0-founded the Justice and Development Party (UCID) with Faysal Warabe and was subsequently elected a member of parliament for Sahil region in 2005.

In the same year, he was elected speaker of the Lower House where he served until 2017 when he faced Bihi in the then presidential elections under the new Waddani party but lost.

Irro will now serve for five years in line with Somaliland’s constitution.