Djibouti Parliament Votes to Lift Presidential Age Limit

Djibouti's parliament unanimously decided on Sunday to lift the age limit for presidents of the country, which was fixed at 75 by the constitution. This allows current president Ismail Omar Guelleh, 77, to re-run in next year's elections.

No more age limits for Djibouti's leader: current president Ismail Omar Guelleh will be able to run in the country's next presidential elections, set for April 2026, if he wishes to do so.

Up to now, the constitution of Djibouti limited the possibility of running for president to those of no more than 75 years.

But on Sunday, all 65 lawmakers in the country's parliament voted to remove the limit, effectively allowing Guelleh, who is currently 77, to run again in April.

The vote still needs to be approved by the president himself, following which, it will be confirmed by another vote in early November.

Some contestation following the parliament's decision took place on social media. To what extent the population really objects to IOG potentially staying in power is however almost impossible to confirm, as freedom of speech and freedom of the press are severely restricted.

IOG has ruled the country for the past 26 years, after becoming president for the first time in 1999. Djibouti is a unitary presidential republic, where power is mainly concentrated in the hands of the president, and the country is considered as authoritarian.

Despite being a small and not very populous country, Djibouti holds great international strategic significance due to is geographic location in the Horn of Africa.

It is home to several foreign military bases, among them the US, Japan and France.