Djibouti president Guelleh claims landslide election win

Ismail Omar Guelleh, Djibouti's incumbent leader, has claimed victory in a presidential election that would grant him a sixth consecutive term in office.

The 78-year-old leader, who first took power in the Horn of Africa nation in 1999, made the announcement a day after polls were held, with more than 256,000 registered voters eligible to participate.

In a brief message posted on his official X account on Saturday, Guelleh wrote, "Re-elected," with official results giving him more than 97 percent of the vote.

Guelleh had faced a single challenger in the election, Mohamed Farah Samatar, a former member of the ruling party.

Although previously barred from seeking a sixth term due to a constitutional age limit of 75, an amendment passed in 2025 removed the restriction, allowing Guelleh to run again.