Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has ruled the small but strategically important Horn of Africa nation since 1999, is set to run for a sixth term in next year’s presidential election. The announcement follows a parliamentary decision to remove the 75-year age limit for presidential candidates, paving the way for the 77-year-old leader to extend his decades-long rule.
The development was confirmed to AFP by National Assembly President Dileita Mohamed Dileita after a congress of the ruling People’s Rally for Progress (RPP). “He has agreed to be a candidate in next year’s presidential election; everything went smoothly,” Dileita said. Another participant at the congress also verified the news but requested anonymity.
Guelleh’s re-election is widely seen as inevitable. In the 2021 election, he secured 97 percent of the vote, while his ruling coalition, the Union for the Presidential Majority, dominates parliament. However, international observers, including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), have dismissed Djibouti’s past elections as “not free.”
This latest constitutional change is reminiscent of the 2010 amendment that abolished the two-term limit, allowing Guelleh to continue his grip on power. The country has since faced regular criticism from human rights organizations for restricting political freedoms and silencing dissent.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Djibouti ranks 168th out of 180 in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, with the local media largely controlled by the state.
Despite concerns about his health and advancing age, Guelleh insists he remains fit to lead. “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 in a recent interview, adding that “everything is perfect.”
Djibouti’s strategic location along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait continues to make it a key regional hub, hosting major military bases from the U.S., France, China, Japan, and Italy.
