Djibouti s President Guelleh wins fifth term with 97% of votes reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Voters headed to the polls on Friday in the tiny but strategically important Horn of Africa nation Djibouti, with President Ismael Omar Guelleh widely expected to win a fifth term and extend his 21-year-long rule.
Djibouti s President Ismail Omar Guelleh is seen at the opening of the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 9, 2020. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
The desert nation of less than one million people lies on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, the Gulf of Aden, and hosts U.S., Chinese, and French military bases, letting it punch above its weight.
Djibouti president seen winning fifth term in election by Reuters
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NAIROBI, April 9 (Reuters) - Voters head to the polls on Friday in the tiny but strategically important Horn of Africa nation Djibouti, with President Ismael Omar Guelleh widely expected to win a fifth term and extend his 21-year-long rule.
Djibouti lies on one of the world s busiest shipping routes, the Gulf of Aden, and hosts U.S., Chinese, and French military bases, letting it punch above its weight.
Guelleh, 73, is one of Africa s longest-ruling leaders. He was picked to succeed his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who led the country to independence from France in 1977.
Image: ReutersPresident Ismail Omar Guelleh faces only one challenger, relative newcomer Zakaria Ismail Farah
Voters head to the polls on Friday in the tiny but strategically important Horn of Africa nation Djibouti, with President Ismail Omar Guelleh widely expected to win a fifth term and extend his 21-year-long rule.
Djibouti lies on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, the Gulf of Aden, and hosts US, Chinese, and French military bases, letting it punch above its weight.
Guelleh, 73, is one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders. He was picked to succeed his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who led the country to independence from France in 1977.
Veteran ruler Guelleh confident of victory as Djibouti votes
By Marion DOUET
7 HOURS AGO
President Ismail Omar Guelleh cast his ballot in the Ras-Dika district in the capital Djibouti. By TONY KARUMBA (AFP)
Djibouti s veteran ruler Ismail Omar Guelleh said Friday he was very confident of securing a fifth term as president as voters went to the polls in the tiny but strategically important African nation.
Some 215,000 citizens are registered to vote in the ballot pitting Guelleh, 73, against a little-known businessman widely seen as posing scant threat to the strongman, in power since 1999.
Polling stations opened at 6:00 am (0300 GMT) across the arid Horn of Africa nation, which overlooks one of the world s busiest trade routes at the crossroads between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.