Guelleh Claims Landslide Victory in Djibouti Presidential Election

Addis Ababa, April 10, 2026 (ENA) —Ismail Omar Guelleh, the long-serving president of Djibouti, has claimed a decisive victory in the country’s latest presidential election, according to a statement he posted on his X account Saturday morning.

Preliminary results reported by the Ethiopian News Agency indicate that Guelleh secured an overwhelming 97.8 percent of the vote, extending his grip on power and marking what would be his sixth term in office since first assuming the presidency in 1999.

His only challenger, Mohamed Farah Samatar, garnered just 2.2 percent of the vote, according to figures released by the interior ministry.

Samatar, a relatively little-known figure among the general public, posed minimal electoral challenge to the incumbent.

At 78, Guelleh remains a dominant political force in the strategically Red Sea nation, which occupies a position in the Horn of Africa.

 His latest victory mirrors the outcome of the 2021 election, in which he also won by a margin exceeding 97 percent.

The election outcome is likely to reinforce ongoing scrutiny from observers regarding political competition and democratic processes in Djibouti, where opposition activity has historically been limited.