Breakaway Somaliland votes as quest for recognition gathers pace

Hargeisa: voters in Somaliland turned out Wednesday to choose their next president, as the breakaway region of Somalia pursues a quest for internation...

Hargeisa: voters in Somaliland turned out Wednesday to choose their next president, as the breakaway region of Somalia pursues a quest for international recognition that has heightened tensions in the Horn of Africa.

Many hailed the election as a display of Somaliland's peaceful democracy as it seeks to end decades of isolation following its unilateral declaration of independence in 1991.

Ballot counting began after polling stations closed around 6:30 pm (1530 GMT) but results are not due until next week.

Around 1.2 million people were registered for the election, and voters in the capital Hargeisa had lined up before dawn to avoid the heat, many showing off voting cards and sporting the territory's red-and-white flag.

In the city's main square, under a MIG fighter jet shot down during fighting with government forces in 1988, five polling stations were set up in tents.