Gaas narrowly beats his main rival, the incumbent President Abdirahman Mohamed Sheikh Farole in the third round by 33 to 32 votes.

The former Prime Minister of Somalia, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas will lead the semi-autonomous state in the next five years.

In his speech, president-elect hailed the transparent and democratic elections in Puntland and thanked outgoing president Abdirahman Sheikh Mohamed Farole for his enormous work during his five years in office.

Abdirahman Mohamed Farole accepted the outcome of the elections and urged the president-elect to move forward the development process in the country.

Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay who was at the proceedings congratulated president-elect Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas for his victory.

He also congratulated the outgoing president Abdirahman Farole for accepting the outcome of the vote and hailed the elections as a great progress for Somalia.

Puntland is semi-autonomous region in the northeastern part of the country and has enjoyed relative peace since the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991.