Somaliland House of Representatives elected Yassin Hajji Faratoon as the new Speaker of the House during a voting session held in Hargeisa on Sunday.
Faratoon got 46 out of 81 votes, defeating his opponent MP Mohamed Khadar Dahir, who received 35 votes.
Ali Hamud Jibril, another Member of Parliament among the candidates for the seat, withdrew from the race late last night. He cited that some MPs from his constituency, who had previously pledged their support, had changed their allegiance, leading to his decision to step down.
Prof. Faratoon previously contested for this position in 2021, but the outgoing Speaker, Abdirisaaq Khalif Ahmed, won the election. Yassin Hajji Faratoon, born in the contested city of Las Anod in 1947, completed his primary education in the same city and attended Dayaha High School in Erigabo.
