On Saturday, the Somaliland House of Elders extended the tenure of both the House of Elders and President Muse Bihi Abdi by an additional five years.
The majority of the House’s members decided to extend the president’s and the senate’s terms in office.
The lone legislator, Omar Nur Waye, claimed that more discussion should have taken place before the decision to extend the deadline.
The opposition groups in Somaliland declared they would not agree to President Bihi’s extension without first consulting them.
The election in Somaliland was cancelled last Saturday, according to the electoral commission, due to technical and financial difficulties.
The commission stated that there would be “a nine-month delay from October 1, 2022,” but did not specify a potential new date.
A five-year term was granted to Muse Bihi Abdi as president of the self-declared republic on the Horn of Africa in 2017. The election was set for November 13—one month before his term is up.