Omar Guelleh Re-Elected Fourth Time As Djibouti’s President

Posted by African Examiner East/Central Africa, Latest Headlines Saturday, April 9th, 2016

President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti has won for the fourth time, the Presidential election of his country.

Although, the Friday’s poll was strongly criticized by the opposition and activists, but tits outcome recorded a landslide victory for Mr. Guelleh, as he won 87 per cent of the total valid votes.

Guelleh’s main rival of the Union for National Salvation (USN) coalition, Omar Elmi Kaireh, came a distant second with 7 per cent total vote according to provisional results announced by Interior Minister Hassan Omar

The incumbent who has been in since 1999, contested with five rivals, but three opposition parties boycotted the poll. The oppositions complained about police brutality and media bias under Mr Guelleh’s rule.

Despite the protest by the oppositions, President Guelleh has reacted to his victory. “The people of Djibouti have again entrusted me with the state’s highest office,” Mr Guelleh, 68, said in a speech on national TV Saturday.

The country’s strategic position on the Gulf of Aden makes a home for US and French military bases. Similarly, Djibouti is also considered as relatively stable in a region that includes Somalia, where the government does not control the whole country and Yemen, where civil war rages.

Among the opposition’s grouses against President Guelleh who has been re-elected for another five years was his reversal on the earlier promise that he would not stand for re-election.