Djibouti’s President Guelleh wins sixth straight term in office

The longtime ruler, in power since 1999, has secured 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, ushering in his sixth consecutive term in the Horn of Africa country.

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

His sole opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, earned just 2.19 percent of votes.

Samatar’s Unified Democratic Centre (CDU) opposition party has no seats in parliament, and he struggled to gain recognition ahead of the polls.

“Reelected,” Guelleh, 78, wrote on X as early results arrived.

Politicians last year removed presidential age limits, allowing him to seek another five years in power.

Voter turnout was 80.4 percent on Friday, according to Djibouti media outlets. Roughly a quarter of the population – about 256,000 people – were registered to vote.

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

Neighbouring Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, the country is strategically located at the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which provides access to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden.

“By the grace of God, we have arrived here, and we hope that this will end in victory,” Guelleh told reporters as he voted at Djibouti’s City Hall at about midday on Friday.

Originally scheduled to close at 6pm local time (15:00 GMT), polls instead remained open for another hour to account for delays.

Little competition

Even as voters turned in their ballots on Friday, few doubted who would win.

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

In contrast, just a few dozen people were present at one of Samatar’s campaign events broadcast by state media, the AFP news agency reported.

Still, he rallied in the Tadjourah and Obock regions under the tagline that “another Djibouti is possible”.

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

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

Guelleh’s most recent victory in 2021 saw him take 98 percent of votes. Two of the country’s main opposition parties have boycotted elections since 2016, after Guelleh did away with term limits in 2010.

For years, human rights groups have accused government authorities of repressing freedom of speech and political activity – charges that the government has rejected.