Djibouti votes amid disquiet over leader

DJIBOUTI, FRIDAY

Djiboutians voted today in a presidential election that is widely expected to return President Ismail Omar Guelleh to power for a third term despite unhappiness about his tight grip on power.

The opposition in the former French colony had initially boycotted the vote, and attempted to get Egyptian-style protests going in February, but has now thrown its weight behind independent candidate Mohamed Warsama.

Guelleh, 63, has been in power since 1999 and a change in the constitution in 2010 allowed him to run for a third term, a move that angered opposition leaders.

Just over 152,000 people are registered to vote in the small Red Sea state that is home to the only US military base in Africa plus the largest French army camp on the continent, and is used by anti-piracy naval patrols.

Warsama, 52, is campaigning on a platform of improving the country’s judicial system and social services.

The opposition says there is little chance of the vote being free and fair given the crackdown on demonstrations in a country ranked by the United Nations as one of the poorest in the world.

-Reuters