Djibouti’s long-serving president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, has been re-elected for a sixth term after securing 97.8% of the vote in Friday’s presidential election, according to official results released on Saturday, April 11.
Guelleh defeated his only opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, who received 2.2% of the vote, based on figures from the interior ministry.
The results, obtained by APA on Saturday, confirmed that Guelleh—who has been in power since 1999—won by a wide margin.
“Re-elected,” the 78-year-old leader wrote in a social media post ahead of the official announcement, after early results indicated a commanding lead.
Guelleh has ruled Djibouti for 27 years, maintaining a strong hold on power throughout his tenure.
Under his leadership, Djibouti has leveraged its strategic location to emerge as a major international military and maritime hub, hosting foreign bases from countries such as France, United States, China, Japan, and Italy.
