Djibouti votes as long-time leader seeks sixth presidential term

Lawmakers scrapped presidential age limit last year, allowing incumbent Ismail Omar Guelleh to compete for another term.Voters in Djibouti are heading to the polls to choose their next president, with incumbent leader Ismail Omar Guelleh expected to easily secure a sixth term after politicians last year scrapped presidential age limits.Just over 256,000 voters are eligible to cast ballots in Friday’s election between Guelleh, 78, and his only opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, the leader of the Unified Democratic Centre (CDU), a party with no seats in parliament.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran threatens Bab al-Mandeb closure: How would that affect world trade?list 2 of 4Djibouti and the Horn of Africa: new front in the war on Iranlist 3 of 4‘Our geography is our oil’: Why Djibouti hosts many foreign military baseslist 4 of 4Two-man race: Djibouti’s President Guelleh set to extend 27-year ruleend of listAt city hall, where Guelleh is due to vote, only a handful of voters had turned up when the doors opened, with turnout remaining generally low in the early hours, AFP reported. In the capital, Djibouti-city" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="107410" data-entity-type="location">Djibouti City, some polling stations opened late, the news agency said.Human rights groups have accused authorities of abuses and repressing freedom of political activity. The government has denied the allegations. Two of the main opposition parties have boycotted elections since 2016.Polling stations will close at 6pm local time (15:00GMT). Provisional results are expected shortly after or by Saturday morning, according to electoral authorities, as reported by the state-run news agency.Several international organisations are observing voting, including the African Union (AU), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the League of Arab States.Guelleh has governed the small nation in the Horn of Africa since 1999, when he succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the founding president of the country with about a million people.Guelleh won re-election in 2021 with 98 per cent of the vote.Soldiers queue to cast their votes on April 10 [Luis Tato/AFP]‘We have preserved peace’Though Guelleh was originally ineligible to stand in this election due to age limits, politicians removed the restriction last year, paving the way to extend his 27-year rule.