Djibouti’s parliament on Sunday voted unanimously to abolish the presidential age limit, clearing the path for President Ismail Omar Guelleh to seek a sixth term in office.
Guelleh, 77, has led the small but strategically vital Horn of Africa nation since 1999. Under the previous constitution, candidates over the age of 75 were barred from contesting the presidency — a rule that would have prevented him from running in the April 2026 election.
According to parliamentary speaker Dileita Mohamed Dileita, all 65 lawmakers present backed the amendment to remove the age cap. The president may now either approve the decision or call a national referendum. If approved, parliament will hold a second confirmation vote on November 2.
Djibouti, home to major U.S., French, and Chinese military bases, is one of Africa’s most strategically located nations, lying across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key global trade route linking the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Speaking earlier this year in an interview with The Africa Report, Guelleh hinted at the possibility of staying in power, saying:
“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.”
Political analysts say the constitutional change was widely expected. Sonia Le Gouriellec, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Catholic University of Lille, told AFP the move “was not a surprise,” adding that while protests have erupted on social media, “the opposition does not have the space to express itself in Djibouti.”
Speaker Dileita defended the decision, arguing that it would ensure “stability in a troubled region,” referring to conflicts and tensions in neighbouring Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
“I think more than 80 percent of the population supports this,” Dileita claimed.
Guelleh’s ruling Union for the Presidential Majority dominates parliament, and he was re-elected in 2021 with over 97 percent of the vote, in an election boycotted by much of the opposition.
Having served as chief of staff to Djibouti’s founding president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, for more than two decades before succeeding him, Guelleh is already one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.
With the constitutional barrier now removed, his potential bid for another five-year term would extend his rule beyond three decades, consolidating his grip on power in one of Africa’s smallest yet most strategically important nations.
