Djibouti President Guelleh Hints at Sixth Term Bid Despite Constitutional Ban

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Djibouti President Isma'il Omar Guelleh, who has been in power since 1999, indicated he may seek a sixth term in next year’s election, despite a constitutional ban on candidates over the age of 75, according to an interview published on Friday by The Africa Report.

When asked about a possible run in the April 2026 election, the 77-year-old leader said, “I won’t answer that now.”

“I can say that I love my country very much,” he added.

A bid for the 2026 race would require amending the constitution, which currently prohibits candidates older than 75 from running.

Guelleh won 97% of the vote in the 2021 election, and his Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP) party currently holds a parliamentary majority.

Guelleh succeeded Djibouti’s first president, Hassan Guled Abtidoon, who led the country to independence from France in 1977, after serving as his chief of staff for 22 years.

Djibouti is a stable nation in a volatile region that has become a key strategic hub for global powers. The United States, France, and China all maintain military bases there.

Located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea, Djibouti is one of the continent’s least populous countries, with roughly one million inhabitants.

GAROWE ONLINE