Djibouti’s President Guelleh stakes claim for sixth consecutive term. election news

The longtime ruler, in power since 1999, won 97 percent of the vote, according to official results.

Djibouti’s longtime President Ismail Omar Guelleh has claimed a landslide victory in the country’s latest elections, giving him his sixth consecutive term in office in the Horn of Africa country.

Guelleh received 97.81 percent of the votes cast on Friday, according to official results published by Djibouti’s state news agency.

His only rival Mohammad Farah Samatar got only 2.19 percent votes.

Samatar’s Unified Democratic Center (CDU) opposition party has no seats in parliament, and had to struggle to gain recognition ahead of the elections.

“Re-elected,” Guelleh, 78, wrote on Instagram when initial results came out.

Politicians last year lifted presidential age limits, allowing them to remain in power for another five years.

According to Djiboutian media outlets, voter turnout on Friday was 80.4 percent. Nearly a quarter of the population – about 256,000 people – were registered to vote.

Guelleh has ruled Djibouti’s population of about one million since 1999.

Neighboring Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, the country is strategically located on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which provides access from the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea.

“By the grace of God, we have arrived here, and we hope this will end in victory,” Guelleh told reporters as he voted at Djibouti’s city hall around noon on Friday.

It was originally scheduled to close at 6 pm local time (15:00 GMT), but due to the delay, voting remained open for another hour.

small competition

When voters cast their ballots on Friday, there were still some doubts about who would win.

Thousands of people gathered at Guelleh’s campaign rallies ahead of the election, while his posters could be seen spread across the capital.

In contrast, only a few dozen people were present at a campaign event for Samtar broadcast by state media, the AFP news agency reported.

Nevertheless, they rallied in the Tadjoura and Obock regions under the tagline “Another Djibouti is possible”.

Deka Aden Mohammed, 38, told AFP on Friday he planned to vote for Guelleh.

“I don’t even know what his opponent looks like,” he said.

Guelleh’s most recent victory in 2021 saw him receive 98 percent of the vote. The country’s two main opposition parties have boycotted elections since 2016, after Guelleh abolished term limits in 2010.

For years, human rights groups have accused government officials of suppressing freedom of speech and political activity – charges the government rejects.