Djibouti City, Djibouti – Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh has been re-elected for an unprecedented sixth term, securing a staggering 97.8% of the vote in the Friday, April 10, 2026, election.
Okay News gathered that the 78-year-old veteran leader’s victory was announced by the Interior Ministry on Saturday, following a poll that was largely boycotted by the country’s main opposition parties. Guelleh’s sole challenger, Mohamed Farah Samatar, a relatively unknown candidate from a small party, trailed far behind with just 2.2% of the ballots.
The election followed a controversial constitutional amendment in late 2025, which saw parliament unanimously vote to scrap the 75-year age limit for presidential candidates. This legal maneuver allowed Guelleh, who has been in power since 1999, to extend his 27-year rule despite previous hints that he might step down.
Throughout his campaign, Guelleh emphasized his role as a guarantor of stability in the volatile Horn of Africa. Djibouti’s strategic location on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait makes it a vital global shipping hub and a host to several foreign military bases, including those of the United States, China, and France.
While supporters celebrated the “victory for the nation” at the presidential palace, critics and opposition figures—many of whom have boycotted every election since 2016—continue to raise concerns over the shrinking space for democratic competition and the removal of institutional safeguards against indefinite rule. The results now await final validation by the Constitutional Council before Guelleh is sworn in for another five-year term.
