Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh on Saturday claimed a landslide victory in an election that secured his sixth straight term in office, strategically placed in the Horn of Africa nation.
Guelleh won Friday’s presidential election with 97.8% of the vote, according to official results. He beat his sole opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, a little-known figure to the general public, who secured just 2.2% of the vote, according to interior ministry figures.
“Re-elected”, the 78-year-old declared in a social media post ahead of the official results, after early results gave him a huge lead.

Guelleh has ruled the tiny nation of one million people for 27 years with an iron grip. He has made his name leveraging Djibouti’s key location to turn it into an international military and maritime hub.

Guelleh won the last election in 2021, boycotted by most of the opposition, with more than 97% of the vote. He had announced he would step down this year but a constitutional amendment in November removed the upper age limit of 75 for presidential candidates.