Djibouti parliament votes to lift presidential age limit
Djibouti parliament voted unanimously to lift a presidential age limit on Sunday, opening the way for leader Ismail Omar Guelleh to run for a sixth term.
Djibouti parliament voted unanimously to lift a presidential age limit on Sunday, opening the way for leader Ismail Omar Guelleh to run for a sixth term.
Guelleh, known as IOG, has held power since 1999 in the tiny Horn of Africa nation, a major port that hosts military bases for the United States, France, and China.
Djibouti’s constitution says the head of state cannot run for office after 75, which prevented Guelleh, 77, from running in the next election in April 2026.
But an amendment to remove the age limit was backed by all 65 parliamentarians present on Sunday, Speaker Dileita Mohamed Dileita told AFP.
The president can choose to approve the decision or call a referendum.
If approved, parliament will confirm the decision with a second vote, expected on November 2.
Guelleh left the door open to another five-year term in an interview this May with The Africa Report.
“All I can tell you is that I love my country too much to embark on an irresponsible adventure and be the cause of divisions,” he said.
Arsenal fans visit Raila grave at Kang’o ka Jaramogi, Bondo to pay homage
You can honour Raila by joining ODM; Simba Arati tells Uhuru and Kalonzo
Senator Khalwale warns President Ruto ahead of 2027 elections
ODM lacks a presidential candidate, we’ll support Ruto – MP Atandi
This vote is “not a surprise,” Sonia le Gouriellec, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Catholic University of Lille, told AFP.
“There are protests on social media, but I fear that the opposition will not have the space to express itself in Djibouti,” she said.
The state has a poor record of freedom of expression and the press.
Dileita told AFP the constitutional change was necessary to ensure “the stability of the small country, in a troubled region, the Horn of Africa, with Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.”
“I think more than 80 percent of the population supports this,” he said.
In April 2021, Guelleh was re-elected with more than 97 percent of the vote.
His party, the Union for the Presidential Majority, holds the majority of parliamentary seats.
Guelleh succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the father of Djibouti’s independence, in 1999 after serving as his chief of staff for 22 years.
One of the least populated countries on the continent with some one million inhabitants, Djibouti plays an outsized strategic role in the region.
It lies opposite Yemen at the mouth of the Red Sea, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which passes a large part of global trade between Asia and the West.
ODM leaders warn against younger politicians positioning themselves as Raila successors
Babu Owino offers free online Maths revision for KCSE candidates
Government raises alarm over the rising use of Telegram to leak exam papers
Six Iranians arrested as Kenya Navy intercepts vessel with drugs worth Ksh.8.2 billion
Follow us
