Djibouti re-elect Ismael Guelleh for the 5th time as the county’s president.
According to provisional results announced on Saturday, Guelleh garnered more that 98 percent of the total votes casted.
Guelleh was contesting the presidential seat against Zakaria Ismail who was in the race as an independents candidate.
The tiny country strategically located in the horn of Africa with a population of almost one million headed to the polls last Friday. Approximately 215,000 people voted.
“Thank you for your trust, thank you Djibouti. Let’s continue together,” Guelleh wrote on his twitter page.
Merci pour votre confiance, merci pour Djibouti !
— Ismail Omar Guelleh (@IsmailOguelleh) April 10, 2021
Continuons ensemble ! pic.twitter.com/ak8zqSsMkC
Many of the county’s opposition parties boycotted the elections expressing concerns for unfairness.
Guelleh was first elected as President in 1999 as the handpicked successor to his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had ruled Djibouti since independence in 1977. He is one of the longest serving heads of state in Africa.
Djibouti currently hosts the largest US military base in the continent. It also hosts China, Japan and France’s Military bases.
