Presidential elections were held in Somaliland on 13 November 2017, the third direct presidential election since 2003. General elections had been scheduled to be held in Somaliland on 27 March 2017 to elect both the President and House of Representatives,Somaliland: “Presidential and Parliament Elections Slated for March 2017 Somaliland Sun, 10 September 2015 but were initially postponed by six months due to the drought condition in the region. The elections to elect the President and Vice President were eventually held separately on 13 November. Incumbent President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud of the Peace, Unity, and Development Party (Kulmiye) did not run for a second term.

The result was a victory for ruling Kulmiye party candidate Muse Bihi Abdi, who received 55% of the vote.

Background Parliamentary elections were due originally to be held in Somaliland in September 2010, and were eventually scheduled for 26 June 2015 alongside the presidential elections, but due to the unpreparedness of the National Elections Committee the Guurti extended the incumbent's term for a period of 21 months in early September 2015.

Candidates In November 2015 Kulmiye party chairman Muse Bihi Abdi was selected as the presidential candidate for the ruling Peace, Unity, and Development Party. Former long-time House Speaker Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Irro, was chosen as the candidate for the Waddani Party.

The candidate for the Justice and Development was Faysal Ali Warabe, who had unsuccessfully contested the two previous presidential elections. Warabe became the party's candidate after a long legal and political challenge between Warabe and the party's original presidential candidate Jamal Ali Hussein; Hussein later joined Kulmiye. Warabe's running mate was Abdi Ahmed Musa Abyan.

Conduct Sixty international observers from over 27 countries were deployed across Somaliland to observe the elections. Seventeen of the 21 districts in Somaliland were visited by observers, with 335 of the 1,624 polling stations attended. The report by the Development Planning Unit of University College London concluded that "Throughout the election period, Somalilanders demonstrated their support for the rule of law and constitutional process, voting peacefully and in significant numbers and the mission applauds this ongoing commitment to peaceful participation in an impressively open electoral system."

Results On 21 November the NEC announced that Muse Bihi Abdi of the ruling Kulmiye party received 55% of the vote to emerge as the winner. His closest contender was Abdirahman Irro of the Waddani party who received 41% with Faysal Ali Warabe finishing last with 4%.Somaliland ruling party candidate wins Nov. 13 polls – media reports Africa News, 21 November 2017

By region RegionBihiAbdullahiWarabeInvalidvotesTotalRegisteredvotersTurnoutVotes%Votes%Votes%Awdal38,45448.0540,95951.186170.771,40681,436102,57179.39Marodi-jeex130,33461.1263,12729.6019,7959.283,974217,230249,22987.16Sanaag26,73247.6928,77751.335500.981,42257,48180,44371.46Saaxil31,18364.7716,39934.065631.1739048,53560,81779.80Sool21,70754.9317,42644.103830.9778240,29863,69863.26Togdheer57,49948.6759,40450.281,2331.042,501120,637147,44081.82Total305,90955.10226,09240.7323,1414.1710,475565,617704,19880.32Source: SLNEC

By district + Legend Kulmiye victory Waddani victory # Region District KULMIYE Waddani UCID Total votes MarginVotes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % 1 Awdal Zeila 6,099 63.8% 3,398 35.5% 66 0.7% 9,563 1.5% 2,701 28.2% 2 Awdal Lughaya 6,413 84.2% 1,137 14.9% 65 0.9% 7,615 1.2% 5,276 69.3% 3 Awdal Boorame 20,817 40.0% 30,833 59.2% 424 0.8% 52,074 8.0% -10,016 -19.2% 4 Awdal Baki 5,125 47.6% 5,591 51.9% 62 0.6% 10,778 1.7% -466 -4.3% 5 Maroodi-Jeex Gabiley 37,840 92.5% 2,731 6.7% 339 0.8% 40,910 6.3% 35,109 85.8% 6 Maroodi-Jeex Hargeysa 86,024 55.4% 54,013 34.8% 15,342 9.9% 155,379 24.0% 32,011 20.6% 7 Maroodi-Jeex Bali-gubedle 5,109 58.9% 3,474 40.0% 96 1.1% 8,679 1.3% 1,635 18.8% 8 Maroodi-Jeex Salaxley 1,361 16.4% 2,909 35.1% 4,018 48.5% 8,288 1.3% -1,548 -18.7% 9 Saaxil Berbara 25,179 68.8% 10,927 29.9% 485 1.3% 36,591 5.6% 14,252 38.9% 10 Saaxil Sheekh 6,004 52.0% 5,472 47.4% 78 0.7% 11,554 1.8% 532 4.6% 11 Togdheer Burco 51,626 54.2% 42,643 44.8% 973 1.0% 95,242 14.7% 8,983 9.4% 12 Togdheer Oodweyne 1,767 10.0% 15,792 89.0% 186 1.0% 17,745 2.7% -14,025 -79.0% 13 Togdheer Buuhoodle 4,106 79.7% 969 18.8% 74 1.4% 5,149 0.8% 3,137 60.9% 14 Sool Caynabo 14,573 72.0% 5,494 27.1% 179 0.9% 20,246 3.1% 9,079 44.8% 15 Sool Laascaanood 5,060 35.9% 8,865 62.9% 158 1.1% 14,083 2.2% -3,805 -27.0% 16 Sool Xudun 781 27.2% 2,069 72.0% 23 0.8% 2,873 0.4% -1,288 -44.8% 17 Sool Taleex 1,293 55.9% 998 43.1% 23 1.0% 2,314 0.4% 295 12.7% 18 Sanaag Gar'adag 7,331 82.6% 1,396 15.7% 145 1.6% 8,872 1.4% 5,935 66.9% 19 Sanaag Ceel-afweyn 8,179 66.0% 4,064 32.8% 149 1.2% 12,392 1.9% 4,115 33.2% 20 Sanaag Ceerigaabo 10,599 32.1% 22,207 67.2% 243 0.7% 33,049 5.1% -11,608 -35.1% 21 Sanaag Badhan 623 35.7% 1,110 63.6% 13 0.7% 1,746 0.3% -487 -27.9% 22 Sanaag Dhahar 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Total 305,909 55.1% 226,092 40.7% 23,141 4.2% 555,142 85.7% 79,817 14.4%Source: SLNEC

Aftermath Abdi was inaugurated as president on 13 December 2017 in Hargeisa.

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