Djibouti's Guelleh Wins Sixth Term With 97.81% After 2025 Amendment Lifted Age Limit
President Ismail Omar Guelleh, 78, will serve a sixth five-year term after taking 97.81% of votes in Djibouti's April 10 presidential election, the country's state news agency reported. A 2025 constitutional amendment removed the 75-year age ceiling that would have blocked his candidacy.
Djibouti's Agence Djiboutienne d'Information, the government's official news agency, announced on April 11 that incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh had been re-elected to a sixth five-year term, taking 97.81% of votes cast in Friday's election.
His sole opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar of the opposition Centre Démocrate Unifié, received 2.19%. Turnout was reported at 80.4% of registered voters. Polls had been scheduled to close at 6 p.m. local time but were extended by one hour by decree, according to the electoral authorities.
Results
| Candidate | Party | Vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Ismail Omar Guelleh | Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle (UMP) | 97.81% |
| Mohamed Farah Samatar | Centre Démocrate Unifié (CDU) | 2.19% |
The Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI) administered the vote. International observers came from the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the League of Arab States, ADI reported.
The African Union Commission chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, issued a statement the same day congratulating 'the Djiboutian people for their peaceful participation in the electoral process' and commending the AU Election Observation Mission, led by former Rwandan Prime Minister Bernard Makuza.
The age limit
The result extends a tenure that began in 1999, when Guelleh — then cabinet chief to his uncle and predecessor Hassan Gouled Aptidon — was chosen to succeed him. Guelleh, born in 1947, turned 78 in November 2025.
Under the constitutional framework in place before 2025, he would have been ineligible to run. Djibouti's constitution limited presidential candidates to persons under 75 years of age. A constitutional amendment passed in 2025 lifted that ceiling, clearing the legal path for a sixth candidacy.
This is not the first time Djibouti's presidential eligibility rules have been reworked to accommodate Guelleh. In 2010, the constitution was amended to remove a two-term limit, allowing him to seek a third term in 2011. The 2025 amendment removes the age cap that would otherwise have applied to him next.
Context
Djibouti is a country of roughly 1.1 million people on the Horn of Africa that hosts the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa — Camp Lemonnier — as well as French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese military facilities. Guelleh's government has consistently won Western support for its cooperation on counter-piracy and counter-terrorism operations in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Opposition parties have historically alleged irregularities in Djiboutian elections, and opposition figures called for an abstention ahead of Friday's vote, according to the ADI report. Guelleh's previous victories have come with reported vote shares of 100% in 1999 (running unopposed), 100% in 2005 (again unopposed), 80.63% in 2011, 87.07% in 2016, and 97.44% in 2021.
The next scheduled presidential election in Djibouti is in 2031. Guelleh will be 84.