President Said Abdullahi Deni has been re-elected by legislators in Puntland, one of five federal states of Somalia, beating 10 candidates vying to lead the semi-autonomous region.
Mr Deni garnered 45 votes out of a total of 66, defeating his nearest rival Dr Guled Salah Barre, who got 21 votes.
Somalia’s national government and federal member states have not had direct elections since 1969, when the dictator Siad Barre seized power.
Only Somaliland, which borders Puntland, has held direct voting. Somaliland declared independence in 1991 but has never been recognized internationally.
Puntland, on the northeastern side of the Horn of Africa country, however, held its first direct polls during local council elections in May, a move hailed as historic.
However, the 66 members of Parliament were elected through a clan-based ballot. The MPs, in turn, vote for the president.
