In Djibouti, the election campaign began yesterday in preparation for the presidential election on April 9. There are only two candidates, the outgoing president Ismaël Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999 and going into a fifth term. In front of him is Zakaria Ismael Farah, businessman’s president of the MDEND party. The rest of the opposition boycotted.
With our regional correspondent, Sebastien nemeth
President Guelleh began his election campaign with a meeting in Tadjourah, in the north. About ten meetings are planned until April 7. Faced with an opposition that boycotts and accuses the head of state of withdrawing to power, Daoud Houmed, spokesman for the majority, sweeps the critics.
“His achievements are visible to the naked eye. Djiboutier will be able to assess the results. There is no time limit in Djibouti. The opposition had all the freedom to present its candidate. We can only change the course of events through the ballot box, the majority chairman claims. So it is not by boycotting that the opposition will convince Djiboutians of the benefits of its efforts. ”
The opposition foresees “an inevitable fall of the dictatorship”
Several opposition parties, NGOs and activists are about to sign a charter. The text prescribes a political transition with new institutions, to protect against chaos after the “inevitable fall of the dictatorship”, the opposition indicates. Mohamed Kadamy, head of the rebel group FRUD, joined the initiative.
Elections are no longer useful in Djibouti. And so the longer the power continues, the more the risk of chaos and instability will be present. The reason we have organized this transitional charter is to prevent chaos. From the fall of power, this charter must apply. And since Guelleh will not start on his own, we are building a balance of power through multifaceted fighters to release it. ”
The RADDE party did not unite and believed that a transition could not be foreseen as long as power was in place. His supporters protested for the eleventh week in a row on Friday against the 5th term. RADDE leader Abdourahman Mohamed Guelleh urges Djiboutians not to vote or to put a torn vote in the ballot box.
