Djibouti’s President Poised to Secure Sixth Term
Last update: April 10, 2026
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Longtime leader seeks to tighten grip as opposition raises concerns over fairness.
East Africa’s Djibouti is set to vote for a president on Friday, with incumbent Ismael Omar Guelleh widely expected to extend his 27 year rule after parliament removed age limits that would have prevented him from running again.
The small but strategically located country, with a population of less than one million, sits along the Gulf of Aden at the entrance to the Red Sea and hosts military bases from the United States, China, France, Italy and Japan. Since 2023, several commercial ships damaged in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants have docked there.
Relatively stable compared to neighbours such as Somalia and Ethiopia, Djibouti has been governed since 1999 by the 78 year old Guelleh. He was chosen to succeed his uncle Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the country’s first president after independence from France in 1977.
Under Guelleh, the government has invested heavily in port infrastructure, turning the country into a key gateway for landlocked Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation.
Guelleh faces a single challenger, Mohamed Farah Samatar of the small Unified Democratic Centre party, and has won five previous elections, never with less than 74 percent of the vote. In the 2021 election, he secured more than 97 percent.
Human rights groups accuse the authorities of repressing political opponents, activists and journalists. Two of the main opposition parties have boycotted elections since 2016, citing concerns about the impartiality of election authorities.
The government denies allegations of widespread abuses and rejects criticism of the electoral process.
Samatar, whose party is not represented in parliament, has campaigned on tackling corruption, reducing government waste and increasing social spending, according to local media.
In 2020, security forces suppressed rare anti government protests that broke out after the arrest of a former air force pilot who had accused authorities of corruption and clan based discrimination.
