Voters kept the 78-year-old in office after parliament deleted the 75-year cap
Ismail Omar Guelleh secured 97.8 percent of Friday’s ballots, the interior ministry announced, giving the 78-year-old a fresh five-year mandate and extending his tenure to 32 years. Mohamed Farah Samatar, head of a party that holds no seats in parliament, took 2.19 percent. More than 80 percent of registered voters cast ballots, officials said, even though the main opposition coalition again refused to participate.
Constitution rewritten in November to let him run again
Parliament erased the 75-year age ceiling for presidential candidates last November, clearing the path for Guelleh to seek office after he had once promised to step aside. The same body had already abolished term limits in 2010 and shortened mandates from six years to five. Guelleh is only the second president Djibouti has had since independence from France in 1977.
Opposition leaders call polls a stage show
Dahir Ahmed Farah and other opposition chiefs have boycotted every election since 2016, asserting that no genuine political activity is allowed. Their parties stayed out of the race again, leaving Samatar as the sole challenger. Samatar has not spoken publicly since the results were released, and his small party lacks any representation in parliament.
Strategic real estate for global militaries
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where Djibouti sits, funnels shipping toward the Suez Canal, making the country a logistical chokepoint. The United States, China, France, Italy and Japan all maintain military bases inside Djibouti’s borders. Guelleh’s campaign pitched his record of keeping the nation stable while conflicts flared elsewhere in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
Judges must still stamp the tally
The constitutional council has yet to ratify the interior ministry’s figures before Guelleh can be sworn in. He won the 2021 contest by a nearly identical margin. Once the council approves, the new term will run until 2031.
