This story is written and edited by Global South World
Around 243,000 voters are registered for Djibouti’s 2026 presidential election, according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, as incumbent Ismaïl Omar Guelleh seeks to extend his decades-long rule. Other estimates from recent reporting place the electorate slightly higher, at just over 256,000 eligible voters across the country.
In power since 1999, Guelleh is pursuing a sixth term after constitutional changes lifted presidential age limits, enabling him to run again. He faces a single challenger, Mohamed Farah Samatar, in a race widely expected to favour the incumbent, who won nearly all votes in the 2021 election. Analysts say the poll is likely to reinforce political continuity in the strategically located Horn of Africa nation, though critics point to a weakened opposition and longstanding concerns over electoral competitiveness.
This article was originally published by Global South World and is republished here with permission. View the original article.
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