By Djibouti veteran ruler, Ismail Omar Guelleh has been re-elected as president for the fifth term after being declared the winner in Friday April 9 presidential election, AFP reported.
“Thank you for your trust, thank you Djibouti. Let’s continue together,” Guelleh said on Twitter shortly after results were announced.
Guelleh, 73, who has been in power since 1999 secured 98.58 % of the vote, defeating Zakaria Ismail Farah, an independent and a newcomer candidate.
He will now lead the tiny but strategic Horn of Africa nation for a fifth term staying in power for more than two decades –becoming one of the longest-serving heads of state on the continent.
“President Ismail Omar Guelleh obtained 167,535 votes, which is 98.58 percent,” Interior Minister Moumin Ahmed Cheick told public broadcaster RTD early Saturday, adding that confirmed results would be released soon by the Constitutional Council.
According to the provisional results, Farah, a 56-year-old cleaning products importer, ended up with under 5,000 votes.
He cast doubt on the transparency of the voting process, saying his delegates were not present at polling stations.
“My vote is of no use, nor are the votes of 80 percent of the Djiboutian people,” AFP quoted the opposition candidate as saying.
Before the election, other candidates from main opposition parties reportedly boycotted the polls after expressing concern about the fairness of the vote.
It was also reported that an estimated 215,000 voters cast ballots in the country with a population of more than 1 million residents.
