By Abdi Sheikh, Sonia Rao (Reuters) -Voters in Somaliland flocked 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.

Voting is underway in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland in a key presidential election that was delayed for two years and comes as the Horn of Africa region is experiencing political tension.

Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia at the centre of a diplomatic storm, holds a presidential election on Wednesday at a tense moment in the Horn of Africa.Now, it has become the focus of a major dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia that international observers fear could spark conflict in the restive region.

Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, holds a presidential election on Wednesday at a time of diplomatic tensions in the Horn of Africa.

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.

Voters in Somaliland went to the polls for the fourth presidential election since 1991 amid heightened tension between Somalia and Ethiopia over a controversial maritime deal