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Sub Saharan Africa

Djibouti

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Map of Djibouti Last reviewed: 23 October 2008

Country information

POLITICS

Ismail Omar Guelleh succeeded his uncle, Hasan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He won the April 1999 Presidential elections as the RPP candidate with 74% of the vote. Political parties (legalised in 1992) have since become more diverse: the RPP joined with FRUD to form a new ruling coalition, l'Union pour la Majorite Presidentielle (UMP). Four opposition parties formed L'Union pour l'Alternative Democratique (UAD) to contest parliamentary elections in January 2003. The UMP took 62.7% of the votes but won all 65 seats in the Chamber of Deputies due to Djibouti's unusual first-past-the-post list system. The UAD claimed extensive vote rigging and manipulation of constituency boundaries. Presidential elections were held on 8 April 2005. Guelleh stood unopposed as the UMP candidate and claimed 96.85% of the vote on a 78.9% turn out. The opposition UAD failed to field a candidate and called for a boycott of the polls. They have disputed the high turn out figure. Guelleh is now serving his second 6-year term and will not be eligible to stand in the presidential elections due for 2011. The last parliamentary elections took place in  February 2008, when Dileita Mohamed Dileita was reappointed as Prime Minister.

BBC News: Africa

HUMAN RIGHTS

Djibouti has ratified only 2 of the 6 core International Human Rights Treaties – the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Human Rights Annual Report 2006

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