Djibouti Oppositions Dodge Elections & Discredit Afterwards

The public of the Republic of Djibouti are preparing to line up in front of the polling stations soon in April 2021 to cast their votes for their presidential candidates of choice.

It is expected of this country to hold presidential elections every five years. The current and incumbent president, Ismail Omar Gelleh, also know as IOG, has already declared his candidacy last year in mid December 2020 to run as his fifth term this year. President Gelleh was in power for over twenty years since taking office in April 1999 after replacing another head of state – late president Al-Haji Hassan Gulaid Aptidon – who also ruled the country for twenty-two years since the nation’s independence from France in 1977.

Similarly, like most African politicians, none of the main Djiboutian opposition party leaders and/or candidates have yet to declare or announce their candidacies while the national election is only couple of months away.

At independence, the government opted to keep one official political party in order to prevent disintegration along tribal affiliations. The Popular Rally for Progress or RPP party was born in March 1979 and Hassan Gulaid Aptidon, who was President of the Republic at that time, was first elected President according to Global Security news agency. An Afar ethnic dominated party – FRUD (Front for the Restoration of Djibouti’s Unity ) – was formed in 1991 to protest the single party system in the county.

Afars also claimed to have been marginalized of the government resources and power sharing by the Somali majority RPP party. The country faced a brutal civil war between the Afar majority FRUD party and the government in 1991-1994 in the northern regions.

Shorty after Djibouti’s first constitution was re-drafted in 1992, the government announced the decision to implement a democratic system based on multiple political parties and agreed to register four parties: FRUD, National Democratic Party (PND), Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), and RPP which was the ruling party.

In the 1990s, political opposition parties in Djibouti such as PND, PRD, and FRUD appeared much more organized and engaged with the issues confronting the society at large than today’s parties. Their leaders, Ali Mohamed Daud of FRUD, Mohamed Jama Elabeh of PRD, and Adan Roble Awaleh of PND, had objectives for creating genuine and inclusive political space for all. They also had visions to rebuild the nation.

For example, PRD was determined to establish a democratic, parliamentary government while PND was seeking a national unity government to supervise implementation of democratic reforms. FRUD advocated for fair ethnic representation in the government of Djibouti.

The republic was desperate for an alternative leadership as of 2011 after the current president modified the nation’s constitutional two-terms presidential office occupancy into an unlimited terms. 

The majority of the Djiboutian population became furious and detested this decision because it was viewed as a violation of the constitution. The current opposition parties including USN – Union for National Salvation – coalition party immediately rejected it and as a result boycotted the 2011 and 2016 presidential elections. In the past decade, the complaints and habitual narratives of opposition political parties – after each presidential elections – were not more than an expressions accusing current president of holding fraudulent elections.

Dahir Ahmed Farah (DAF) and Abdirahman Gelleh known as TX are currently two prominent figures of the current oppositions. They each run one of the strongest and most popular parties of the country but they both lack the capacity to build the basic infrastructures of a party. For example TX’s RAADE (Rally for Actions, Democracy, and Ecological Development) party does not even own an official website as their platform to share their views and positions with their supporters. Similarly, DAF’s MRD (The Movement for Democratic Renewal) party also does not have a platform other than social media access. Dictatorship government or the absence of freedom of speech in Djibouti should not an escape goat or an excuse not to engage with the voters while other alternatives such running a party website in exile can be adapted. Political parties must also develop members of congress to ensure inclusivity and an executive council apart from the top leaders (President and the Vice president).

About the Author
Zaki Maki
Djibouti Insight News
Email: Zaki.Isaac@outlook.com
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA