Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999, claimed victory on Saturday following a landslide win in an election boycotted by some opposition parties in this strategic African nation. Friday's vote, which activists complained was preceded by political repression and curbs on basic freedoms, saw Guelleh winning 86.68 percent of ballots, according to the interior ministry. "The people of Djibouti have again entrusted me with the state's highest office," Guelleh, 68, said in a speech on national TV. "I have understood their hopes and will get back to work tomorrow." Facing a fractured opposition, Guelleh had been widely expected to cruise to a fourth term in the tiny Horn of Africa country that has attracted the US, France and China as a prime location for military bases. The closest opposition candidate won just over seven percent of the vote in a race where some 187,000 people — around a fourth of the population — were eligible to cast a ballot. Some opposition parties had called for a boycott, as they had done in previous votes, but turnout was reported to be 68 percent. Looking relaxed and smiling, the head of state cast his vote in the center of Djibouti City on Friday accompanied by his wife, saying he was "very confident" he would be reelected. Several opposition candidates complained that their representatives had been turned away from a number of polling stations. "We demand that the government fix this and organize transparent, free, fair and just elections," independent candidate Jama Abderahaman Djama said. With a population of 875,000 people, Djibouti is little more than a port with a country attached, but the former French colony has leveraged its position on one of the world's busiest shipping routes. It is home to Washington's only permanent base in Africa, which is used for operations in Yemen — just across the Gulf of Aden — as well as the fight against the Al-Shabab in Somalia and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Guelleh won the last election in 2011 with 80 percent of the vote, after parliament changed the constitution to clear the way for a third term. Following parliamentary elections in 2013 which Guelleh's UMP party won, sparking furious opposition claims of fraud, rival parties demanded the creation of an independent electoral commission — which has never happened. Opposition groups complained of curbs on freedom of assembly ahead of the vote, while rights groups denounced political repression and crackdowns on basic freedoms. This week a BBC team was detained, interrogated and then expelled after interviewing an opposition leader. Djibouti has launched major infrastructure projects aimed at turning it into a regional hub for trade and services, using money largely borrowed from China, which is planning to build a military base there. Despite the investment and perky economic growth, four out of five people live in poverty.
