Ismail Omar Guelleh has been re-elected for a fifth term as president of Djibouti with more than 98 percent of the vote.
He faced off with only one other rival after opponents boycotted the vote.
President Ismail Omar Guelleh obtained 167,535 votes, which is 98.58 percent,” Interior Minister Moumin Ahmed Cheick told public broadcaster RTD early Saturday, adding that confirmed results would be released soon by the Constitutional Council.
The 73-year-old has been in power for two decades. For some residents, he is a beacon of stability.
“We are all so happy, we vote 100% IOG, we support the president. We went early morning to the polling stations and we all agree,” retailer Halima Bourhan Ali told Africanews.
Independent election observers said the process went smoothly, with no reports of misconduct.
Earlier, after voting in the capital where most of Djibouti’s one million people reside, Guelleh praised the trouble-free conduct of the electoral exercise.
Guelleh, and his extended family, have controlled the county with an iron fist. The country has seen an erosion of press freedom and a crackdown on dissent.
But Djibouti has remained stable in a volatile area, neighbouring Somalia and opposite Yemen.
The country has taken advantage of its geographical position and has invested heavily in ports and logistics infrastructure.
