Current President, Ismail Omar Guelleh has been in office since May 8, 1999.[1] Guelleh was first elected as President in 1999 as the handpicked successor to his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had ruled Djibouti since independence in 1977. Djibouti has a population of approximately one million with only 176,878 registered to vote.[2] Djibouti has 11 political parties and has re- elections every 6 years since the 1990s when the country's civil war ended.
In the April 2021 elections, Guelleh was re-elected president for his fifth term.[3]
Electoral system
President
The President is directly elected for a five-year term using a two-round system.[4] Until 2010, the president was elected for two six-year terms. The constitution was then changed, which scrapped term limits and reduced the term to five years.[5] Candidates may not be older than 75 years old.[6] The President appoints the Prime Minister.[7] Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed was appointed in April 2013.[8]