Somaliland's leader of the opposition Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi has won the breakaway region's presidency elections in a result rejecting the establishment and calling for change.

Some 1.2 million people were registered to vote on November 13, in an election that international observers hailed as a display of Somaliland's peaceful democracy.

Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, popularly known as "Irro", won the election with 63.92 percent of the vote, well ahead of outgoing president Muse Bihi (34.81 percent) ,  election commission chairman Muse Hassan Yusuf announced on Tuesday ( 19 November)

Irro is a former ambassador of Somalia to the Soviet Union and Finland in the 1980s, and a long-time speaker of the Somaliland parliament.

The 68-year-old has offered few concrete policy changes but says he will be a more unifying figure than Bihi- who he accuses of having divided Somaliland.

Key Takeaways

Previous President- Musa Bihi Abdi

New President - Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

Capital - Mogadishu

Currency - Somali Shilling