Somaliland holds first parliamentary election since 2005

Muse Bihi Abdi.

Muse Bihi Abdi of Somaliland speaks in Hargeisa on October 10, 2018. PHOTO | REUTERS

Somalia's breakaway Somaliland region held its first parliamentary election in 16 years on Monday, in what politicians there describe as evidence of its comparative stability.

The region, which broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence, has been largely peaceful while the rest of Somalia has suffered three decades of civil war.