By Ghazali Ibrahim
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh has on Saturday claimed a sixth consecutive term as president of Djibouti following a landslide victory in the country’s latest presidential election.
Official results showed Guelleh won about 97.8 percent of the vote, extending his rule over the strategically located Horn of Africa nation, where he has been in power since 1999.
The 78-year-old leader faced only one challenger, Mohamed Farah Samatar, who secured just over two percent of the votes in a race widely seen as lacking strong opposition.
The election followed recent legal changes by lawmakers removing presidential age limits, a move that enabled Guelleh to seek another term in office.
Despite officials describing the vote as peaceful with voter turnout reported above 80 percent, critics and opposition groups have long questioned the credibility of elections in the country, citing restrictions on political freedoms and repeated boycotts by major opposition parties.
Djibouti remains a key geopolitical hub due to its location along major global shipping routes and its hosting of multiple foreign military bases, including those of the United States, China, and France.
Guelleh’s latest victory further consolidates his nearly three-decade hold on power, raising renewed debate about democratic governance in the small but strategically significant East African nation.
Guelleh, securing a sixth term in office, extending his rule that began in 1999, the same year Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo was inaugurated, has now been in power for 26 years, making him one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.
His continued tenure reflects a broader trend across the continent, where several long-serving leaders remain in power. In Cameroon, 93-year-old Paul Biya recently won an eighth term after more than four decades in office, while Côte d’Ivoire’s 84-year-old Alassane Ouattara, in power since 2010, also secured re-election.
Similar patterns are seen in Equatorial Guinea under Teodoro Obiang, Uganda under Yoweri Museveni, Eritrea under Isaias Afwerki, Congo under Denis Sassou Nguesso, Rwanda under Paul Kagame, and Togo under Faure Gnassingbé, illustrating how entrenched leadership remains a defining feature of politics in several African nations.
