The regional state of Puntland has stepped back from the one-person-one-vote (1P1V) elections it had been planning for the presidential seat.
President Said Abdullahi Deni had a change of heart on Wednesday.
Deni announced that the region, which is expected to hold presidential polls early next year, would not do so using the indirect method.
Consequently, voters would no longer be responsible for electing the new president.
On Wednesday night, he announced that the onus of electing his replacement now lies in the hands of parliamentarians who will be elected into office by clan elders.