Djibouti is going to the polls to elect next president as concern over rigging looms

DJIBOUTI—Djibouti is going to the polls Friday for a presidential election that is marred by concern over freedom of expression and political space.

The incumbent president, Ismail Omar Guelleh is seeking to serve his fourth term as the President. The opposition parties say his bid betrays the pledged he made in 2011 after a disputed presidential election where he vowed that  he would not vie for the presidency again.

Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh casting his vote in the capital Djibouti. He is seeking to serve his fourth term in office. PHOTO/ Courtesy.

Guelleh is the second president the country has had since 1977 when it gained independence from the French. The tiny state with a population of slightly over 0.2 million people is of geo-strategic importance to the world’s powerful countries. “That is why it’s not being reprimanded by the West for its human rights abuse like Burundi,” the opposition said.

Speaking to a French radion, oppposition spokeman Daher Ahmed Farah said, “Every day Paris and Washington criticise Burundi but when it comes to Djibouti, silence reigns”.

French has its largest African base in the country while US has its drone-operating base in Djibouti to target militants in Yemen and Somalia. Japan and China have made significant military investment in the counrty and so does the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Why are all these countries investing in the tiny country?

Djibouti borders Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia and is generally seen as a relatively stable country in the volatile Horn of Africa neighbourhood. Its position along the Gulf of Aden is also attractive.

With the West’s so much vested interest in the country, the opposition is feeling abondoned besides being weak itself due to clan affiliations and anatgonism within its rank.

There are three independent candidates in the race: Djama (Jam’a) Abdourhaman Djama, Mohamed Moussa Ali alias Tourtour, and Hassan Idriss Ahmed, a former diplomat.

The three other presidential candidates in the race are all representing parties: President Guelleh is leading the Union for a Presidential Majority, the ruling coalition that is campaigning on a plartform eradicating tribalism, which is a problem in the country. The coalition was in the past accused of tribalism.

Omar Ilmi Kheireh is the main opisition figure vying with USN coalition ticket and also independence hero. He is the torch-bearer of the Djiboutian Party for Development.

The voting exercise is set to come to an end Friday evening and the results will be announced later in the night.