Djibouti’s longtime ruler Ismail Omar Guelleh has won a fifth term as president with more than 98 percent of the vote, according to provisional results announced early on Saturday, reported Anadolu Agency. An estimated 215,000 voters cast ballots in the country with a population of more than 1 million residents.
“Thank you for your trust, thank you Djibouti. Let’s continue together,” Guelleh said on Twitter shortly after results were announced.
The 73-year-old Guelleh was re-elected with 98.58 % of the vote.
“President Ismail Omar Guelleh obtained 167,535 votes, which is 98.58 percent,” Interior Minister Moumin Ahmed Cheick told public broadcaster RTD early on Saturday.
He added that the Constitutional Council would announce the confirmed results soon. Independent election observers said the process went smoothly, with no reports of misconduct.
Guelleh just faced one challenger political newcomer Zakaria Ismail Farah after Djibouti’s main opposition parties boycotted the election. According to the provincial results, Farah ended up getting less than 5,000 votes. He cast doubt on the transparency of the voting process, saying his delegates were not present at polling stations.
Farah had previously alleged unfair treatment during the election campaign, including that he was not provided security at his rallies.
Guelleh has been serving as the president of Djibouti since 1999. He rose to power after the death of his predecessor Hassan Guled Aptidon, the country’s first president.
His fifth term will be his last under a 2010 constitutional reform that scrapped term limits while introducing an age limit of 75, which would make him ineligible to contest future elections.
Interestingly, Guelleh has secured at least 75 percent of the vote in every presidential election he has contested.
Djibouti, a small country in the Horn of Africa, won independence from France in1977. The country is the base of the United States’ biggest military facility on the continent. China, Japan, and France also have military bases in the country.
