Rhino: Voters in Somaliland went to the polls on Wednesday to choose a president at a time when the breakaway Somali region expects international recognition soon, after enjoying de facto autonomy for three decades.

President Muse Bihi Abdi, who has been in power since 2017, is running against the main opposition party’s candidate Abdirahman Serow. The vote was originally scheduled to take place in 2022 but lawmakers opted to extend Bihi’s term by two years.

Footage broadcast on state television showed voters, including women wearing brightly colored headdresses, queuing up in various cities to cast their ballots.

Most polling stations closed at 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) with no reports of major issues, with some centers staying open longer due to late openings.

Somaliland, strategically located at the confluence of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, declared independence from the Mogadishu government in 1991.

Somaliland has not been recognized by any state, leaving it with restrictions on access to international funding and the ability of its six million people to travel.