Djiboutians began voting on Friday in a presidential election in which the incumbent president, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, is seeking a sixth term.
Polling stations opened at 06:00 (03:00 GMT). Voters have the choice between a green ballot bearing the name of the outgoing head of state and a blue ballot bearing the name of his opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, president of the Unified Democratic Centre (CDU) — a party with no seats in Parliament — and a figure little known to his fellow citizens.
A little over 256,000 citizens are called to the polls in this election. Polling stations will close at 18:00, with the first results expected later in the evening.
In the previous presidential election in 2021, largely boycotted by the opposition, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh was re-elected with more than 97% of the vote.
