2016 Djiboutian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Djibouti on 8 April 2016.[1] Incumbent President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh was re-elected for a fourth term, receiving 87% of the vote in the first round.[2]

2016 Djiboutian presidential election

8 April 2016
191,103 Eligible Voters
Nominee Ismaïl Omar Guelleh Omar Elmi Khaireh Party RPP USN Popular vote 111,389 9,385 Percentage 87.07% 7.34%
President before election Ismaïl Omar Guelleh RPP Elected President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh RPP

Electoral system

The President of Djibouti was elected using the two-round system.[3] After a modification of the constitution in 2010, six year terms were shortened to five year terms and term limits were abolished.[4]

Candidates

Guelleh, president since 1999, ran for his fourth term in office and was considered likely to win against his six opponents. The Union for the Presidential Majority believed that Guelleh would win a landslide victory and prevent a second round run-off.[4]

The Union for National Salvation (USN), a coalition of seven opposition parties, claimed the election lacked transparency.[5] Three of the seven parties decided to boycott the elections, whilst two others fielded their own candidates, with Mohamed Daoud Chehem and Omar Elmi Khaireh running against each other.[4]

Three independent candidates also ran: Djama Abdourahman Djama, Mohamed Moussa Ali and Hassan Idriss Ahmed.[6]

Conduct

Expulsion of journalists

A team of BBC journalists who had conducted an interview with the Djibouti Foreign Minister and an opposition candidate were detained by the police. The journalists claimed they had proper paperwork to work in the country but were deported after being questioned for eight hours.[7] The BBC has yet to obtain an official statement from the government of Djibouti.[8] Djibouti ranks 170 out of 180 in the Press Freedom Index.[9]

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Ismaïl Omar Guelleh	People's Rally for Progress	111,389	87.07
	Omar Elmi Khaireh	Union for National Salvation	9,385	7.34
	Mohamed Daoud Chehem	Union for National Salvation	2,340	1.83
	Mohamed Moussa Ali	Independent	1,946	1.52
	Hassan Idriss Ahmed	Independent	1,770	1.38
	Djama Abdourahman Djama	Independent	1,103	0.86
Total			127,933	100.00
Valid votes			127,933	97.08
Invalid/blank votes			3,845	2.92
Total votes			131,778	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			191,103	68.96
Source: Présidence de la République de Djibouti

References

1. Global elections calendar NDI
2. Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh wins fourth term BBC News, 9 April 2016
3. Djibouti IFES
4. "Djibouti Presidential Election 2016: Guide To Candidates, Key Issues, Rules And Results". International Business Times. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
5. "Djibouti's Guelleh seeks fourth term, opposition candidates doubt integrity of vote". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
6. "Liste des Canditats". CENI. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
7. "Djibouti expels BBC reporters ahead of presidential vote". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
8. "Djibouti expels BBC journalists ahead of tomorrow's elections". Eagle Online. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
9. "2015 World Press Freedom Index". Reporters without Borders. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-08.