2005 Djiboutian presidential election
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 Member State of the Arab League |
 Africa portal  Politics portal |
Presidential elections were held in
Background
Campaign
The main opposition parties in Djibouti did not put up a candidate in the presidential election and called on their supporters to boycott the election.[1] The only opposition candidate who had said they would stand in the election was Mohamed Daoud Chehem. However, on the 10 March 2005 he withdrew from the election as he said that he did not have enough money to take part in the election.[4] A statement from one opposition party on the 18 March said that "change through the ballot box is almost impossible in the Republic of Djibouti".[1]
Despite having no opponents President Guelleh campaigned strongly in the run up to the election. He held rallies in the evenings and pledged to reduce poverty, increase women's rights and improve the transparency of the government. He also accused the opposition of being afraid to stand against him and said that he regretted having no opponent in the election.[5][6]
On the day of the election itself there was a protest against the election which was broken up by the police firing tear gas.[5] The official news agency of Djibouti reported that there was a high turnout of over 70% of voters in the election, however members of the opposition said that this was incorrect.[7]
Results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ismaïl Omar Guelleh | People's Rally for Progress | 144,433 | 100.00 | |
| Total | 144,433 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 144,433 | 96.85 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 4,692 | 3.15 | ||
| Total votes | 149,125 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 208,098 | 71.66 | ||
| Source: African Elections Database | ||||
Aftermath
Guelleh was sworn in as President for a second term on 9 May 2005 and pledged to increase economic development in Djibouti.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d "DJIBOUTI: No challengers for Guelleh as presidential campaign kicks off". IRIN. 2005-03-29. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Elections in Djibouti". African Elections Database. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Djibouti's Leader Wins Uncontested Vote". The New York Times. 2005-04-09. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Clear run for Djibouti's leader". BBC Online. 2005-03-10. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- ^ a b "Djibouti leader wins one-man poll". BBC Online. 2005-04-09. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- ArabNews. 2005-04-09. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Djibouti incumbent wins one-man poll". afrol. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "DJIBOUTI: Guelleh sworn in for second presidential term". IRIN. 2005-05-09. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
