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Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP

Said Abdullahi Deni was on Monday re-elected president of the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland, which has tense relations with the central government in Mogadishu.

Deni, a former minister in the national government who has been at the helm of the oil-rich region since 2019, hailed the election process for proceeding "peacefully".

"I say to all of us let us fear God and forget the past and open a new page, work towards peace and development," said Deni, 58, following his election by regional lawmakers.

The vote for local council representatives and the regional leadership had sparked tensions, with opposition politicians accusing Deni of seeking to amend the constitution to stay in power.

Fighting in June between armed opposition factions and the police in Puntland's capital Garowe left at least eight people dead, a month after the state staged its first direct polls in more than half a century during local council elections.

Regional authorities had originally intended to hold the parliamentary polls via a one-person one-vote system but rolled back the plans last month after opposition pressure, opting instead to continue with a complex, clan-based ballot.

Somalia's national government and federal member states have not had direct elections since 1969, when the dictator Siad Barre seized power.

Direct voting has been held in Puntland's neighbour Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 but has never been recognised internationally.

Deni, who ran for Somalia's presidency in 2017 and 2022, has regularly clashed with the central government in Mogadishu as well as with Somaliland.

Puntland claimed autonomy in 1998, bolstered by natural resources including its Bosasso port.

An influential businessman in import-export and real estate, Deni was the federal minister of planning and international cooperation between 2014 and 2017.

Puntland and Somaliland have both staged claims to Las Anod, a disputed city in the self-proclaimed republic which witnessed deadly fighting last year between Somaliland troops and a clan militia.