Elections in Djibouti

Djibouti

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Djibouti

President Ismail Omar Guelleh Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita Ministers National Assembly Speaker Idriss Arnaoud Ali Supreme Court Regions Districts Elections Presidential: 2005, 2011 Parliamentary: 2003, 2008 Political Parties Foreign relations

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Djibouti elects both the President and the unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) at the national level.

Djibouti is a one party dominant state with the People's Rally for Progress (RPP) in power. Opposition parties are allowed, but currently have no seats in the legislature. Freedom House considers the recent elections in Djibouti to be "not free".

Process

President

The President is directly elected for a 6 year term. If an absolute majority is not reached in the first round of voting, a second round can take place.

Until April 19, 2010, the president was elected for two six-year terms, until a change for the constitution was passed. Since then, there are no term limits, but the length of a term was reduced to five years. Candidates may not be older than 75 years old.

Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.

Legislature

The National Assembly is elected from single winner multi-member constituencies for 5 year terms. Voters cast a single vote for a party. The party with the most votes wins every seat in the constituency.

The National Assembly has 65 members, 30 Somali (21 Issa, 3 Gadabuursi, 3 Isaaq and 3 Daarood) and 30 Afar.

Past Results

2008 legislative elections

The opposition Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP) party boycotted the election, leaving all 65 seats to the ruling RPP. Voter turnout figures were disputed.

2005 Presidential election

Main article: Djiboutian presidential election, 2005

On April 8, 2005, Ismail Omar Guelleh was re-elected for a second term as President of Djibouti. He won 100% of the ballots cast, and reportedly told Le Figaro that he regretted "having no opponent". [1]

 Summary of the 8 April 2005 Djibouti presidential election results

Candidates - Nominating parties	Votes	%
Ismail Omar Guelleh - People's Rally for Progress	144,433	100.00
Total valid votes (turnout 71.7%)	144,433	100.00
Invalid votes	4,692
Total votes	149,125
Registered voters	208,098
Source: African Elections Database

2003 Parliamentary election

 Summary of the 10 January 2003 National Assembly of Djibouti election results

Parties and coalitions	Votes	%	Seats
Union for the Presidential Majority (Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle) People's Rally for Progress (Rassemblement populaire pour le Progrès) Front for Restoration of Unity and Democracy (Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie) National Democratic Party (Parti National Démocratique) Social Democratic People's Party (Parti Populaire Social Démocrate)	53,293	62.7	65
Union for a Democratic Change (Union pour l’Alternance Démocratique) Republican Alliance for Democracy (Alliance Républicaine pour la Démocratie) Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (Mouvement pour le Renouveau Démocratique et le Développement) Djibouti Party for Development (Parti Djiboutien pour le Développement) Djibouti Union for Democracy and Justice (Union Djiboutienne pour la Démocratie et la Justice)	31,660	37.3	0
Total (turnout 48.4 %)	84,953	100%	65
Sources: Adam Carr/Djibouti Information Agency website, ElectionGuide

1999 Presidential election

On April 9, 1999, Ismail Omar Guelleh, candidate of the ruling RPP, was elected with 74.1% of the vote. Moussa Ahmed Idriss, an independent backed by opposition parties, won 25.9% of the vote. Turnout was 56.3%.

See also

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

External links

• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• African Elections Database