Djibouti, with about one million inhabitants, hosts foreign military bases and ranks 168th of 180 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999, will seek a sixth term in next year’s election after parliament removed the 75-year age limit for presidential candidates, political sources told AFP.
“He has agreed to be a candidate in next year’s presidential election, everything went smoothly,” said President of the National Assembly Dileita Mohamed Dileita, following a congress of the ruling People’s Rally for Progress (RPP).
The 77-year-old’s candidacy has not been officially announced by the presidency but was confirmed by a congress participant. Guelleh, who won 97 percent of the vote in 2021, leads a coalition controlling the parliamentary majority.
“All I can tell you is that I love my country too much to embark on an irresponsible adventure and be the cause of divisions,” Guelleh told Africa Report in May.
Djibouti, a strategic Horn of Africa state hosting multiple foreign military bases, is frequently criticized for its limited press freedom and repression of dissent.