Voters in Somaliland head to the polls on Wednesday to choose a president at a time when the breakaway Somali region sees international recognition within reach after three decades of de facto self-rule.
Somaliland, which occupies a strategic position near the entryway to the Red Sea, declared independence from the Mogadishu government in 1991 but has not been recognised by any other country, restricting access to international finance and the ability of its six million people to travel.
