Djibouti's president wins unprecedented sixth term with 97.8% of vote

Ismail Omar Guelleh, 78, has extended his already 27-year rule in a poll boycotted by the main opposition candidates. Djibouti elections: Ismail Omar Guelleh wins with 97.8% of the vote Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Ismail Omar Guelleh is only the second president Djibouti has had since independence in 1977 Ismail Omar Guelleh, dressed in white and facing the cameras, casts his vote at in Djibouti city on 10 April 2026 Djibouti's president wins unprecedented sixth term with 97.8% of vote Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh has won an election with 97.8% of the vote, keeping him at the helm of the strategically-placed Horn of Africa nation for a sixth term, preliminary official results show. The 78-year-old's sole challenger Mohamed Farah Samatar got 2.19% of the vote, in a poll boycotted by most of the opposition. In power for 27 years, Guelleh had promised to step down, but ran for re-election after the constitution was amended in November to remove the upper age limit of 75 for presidential candidates. Guelleh's campaign focused on the fact that he had maintained stability in Djibouti at a time when other regional states, and the Middle East, had been hit by conflict. Lying on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Djibouti serves as a gateway to the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes. The US, China, France, Italy and Japan have military bases in the country. Guelleh is only Djibouti's second president since it gained its independence from France in 1977. The leaders of the main opposition parties - including Dahir Ahmed Farah - have boycotted elections since 2016, saying there was no free political activity. Guelleh celebrated his victory at his home, saying it was a victory for the entire nation. Officials said that more than 80% of registered voters cast their ballots in Friday's election. Samatar, who was the flag-bearer of a small party with no parliamentary seats, has not yet commented. The results were released by the interior ministry but still need to be validated by judges on the constitutional council before Guelleh can be sworn in for another five-year term. He won the 2021 election by a similar margin. In 2010, Djibouti's parliament scrapped term limits, and shortened presidential mandates from six to five years. It also set 75 as the age limit for candidates, before changing the constitution in November so that Guelleh could run for office again. A Chinese warship off the coast of Taiwan China rejects German claim it targeted military plane with laser A woman sitting on a mountainside wearing a light grey scarf covering her head and shoulders. She is looking into the distance and holding a mobile phone on her lap. 'We will go wherever they hide': Rooting out IS in Somalia An Ethiopian protester in New York, wearing sunglasses and a facemask in the colours of the Ethiopian flag (green, yellow and red stripes with a blue circle in the centre in which is a yellow star) with the hashtag '#It'sMyDam' printed across it in black - March 2021. Ethiopia outfoxes Egypt over the Nile's waters with its mighty dam Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (R) welcomes the Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (L) to Cairo, Egypt in January 2024 Why Ethiopia is so alarmed by an Egypt-Somalia alliance A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News Africa Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Germany says a laser fired by a Chinese warship tried to disrupt a reconnaissance plane over the Red Sea. The boats sank just 150 metres (492 feet) from a Djibouti beach, authorities say. Tensions flare with the arrival of Egyptian planes in Mogadishu and the planned deployment of troops. The once close-knit community of Ngogo chimpanzees have been at loggerheads for the last eight years. The 43-year-old denies the charge and has been released on bail and had to surrender his passport. Trump has given priority to Afrikaners, a white minority group he says is being persecuted. South Africa has objected to his characterisation. Cross-border raids from militant Islamists are increasingly threatening the West African state's stability. The state department has also authorised non-emergency embassy staff to leave on security grounds.