Djibouti is going to the polls on Friday with President Ismail Omar Guelleh seeking a fifth term in the country which is home to military bases for the United States, China and others.
73-year-old Guelleh faces just one challenger, an independent candidate Zakaria Ismail Farah, who halted campaigning early while asserting that he could not do so in safety.
Critics have accused the president of being a heavy-handed dictator, but others in Djibouti see him as a driving force in the country’s development and relative stability.
Guelleh has been in power since 1999 after the death of his predecessor, Hassan Guled Aptidon, the country’s first president. Days ago Guelleh told reporters that he was no longer interested in power but was merely responding to the will of the people.
More than 205,000 people are registered to vote in Djibouti, which has a population of over 600,000.
The country is located on the Red Sea along one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and is a mix of ethnic Somali, Afar and Arab.
Djibouti won independence from France in 1977.
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