Ismaïl Omar Guelleh secured another five years in office after official results gave him an overwhelming share of the vote in Djibouti’s presidential election.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh was re-elected for a sixth term after official results showed he won 97.81% of the vote in Friday’s election.
Guelleh, 78, has ruled the tiny Horn of Africa nation of about 1 million people for more than two decades. Last year, the country’s lawmakers removed presidential age limits.
Election officials said voting was peaceful. At the presidential palace, supporters on Saturday celebrated and offered congratulations.
Guelleh faced a single challenger, Mohamed Farah Samatar, a former member of the ruling party, in a race that analysts say offered little real competition. Opposition groups often boycott elections, citing restrictions on political freedoms.
Guelleh succeeded his uncle, former President Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999, expanding a family-led system that has shaped the country’s politics for decades.
Djibouti hosts numerous foreign military bases, including those of the US, China, France and Japan, underscoring its strategic importance along a key global shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Revenues from these deals, along with port services to neighboring Ethiopia, support the economy.
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