Politics of Djibouti takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the National Assembly. The party system and legislature are dominated by the socialist People's Rally for Progress. In April 2010, a new constitutional amendment was approved. The President serves as both the head of state and head of government, and is directly elected for single six-year term. Government is headed by the President, who appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the latter. There is also a 65-member chamber of deputies, where representatives are popularly elected for terms of five years. Administratively, the country is divided into five regions and one city, with eleven additional district subdivisions. Djibouti is also part of various international organisations, including the United Nations and Arab League.
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is the current President of Djibouti. He has been in office since 1999, making him one of the longest-serving rulers in Africa. He is often referred to by his initials, IOG.
Dileita Mohamed Dileita is a Djiboutian politician who was the Prime Minister of Djibouti from 7 March 2001 to 1 April 2013. He was Vice-President of the People's Rally for Progress (RPP), the governing political party, until 2012. He also served as President of the Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP), the governing coalition. In June 2014, Dileita was appointed as the African Union's Special Envoy for Libya.
Aden Robleh Awaleh (1941 – 31 October 2014) was a Djiboutian politician and President of the National Democratic Party (PND). He was a member of the National Assembly of Djibouti.
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 March 2006. The result was a victory for incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, who received 84.4% of the vote. However, Western observers deemed the elections rigged. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) declared that the election "failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections". In contrast, election observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) described the vote as open and transparent.
The Djiboutian Civil War was a conflict in Djibouti, lasting from 1991 to 1994 and resulting in thousands of fatalities. This uneven power sharing between the Issas and Afars led to the Civil War that ravaged the country for three years.
A series of anti-government riots took place in Armenia following presidential elections held on 19 February 2008. Protests broke out in the Armenian capital Yerevan, organized by supporters of presidential candidate and former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and other opposition leaders.
Presidential elections were held in Djibouti on 8 April 2005. The incumbent President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, was re-elected to a second six-year term in an unopposed election.
Parliamentary elections were held in Djibouti on 10 January 2003 to elect the National Assembly of Djibouti. The ruling coalition of President Ismail Omar Guelleh won all 65 seats in the election, defeating an opposition coalition.
Presidential elections were held in Djibouti on 8 April 2011. Incumbent president Ismail Omar Guelleh was re-elected with 81% of the vote, He defeating Mohamed Warsama Ragueh, an attorney and former judge who received 19% of the vote.
The Kuwaiti protests refers to the series of 2011–2012 demonstrations for government reforms in the state of Kuwait. In November 2011, the government of Kuwait resigned in response to the protests, making Kuwait one of several countries affected by the Arab Spring to experience major governmental changes due to unrest. The protests began with stateless people (Bedoon).
The impact of the Arab Spring concerns protests or by the way attempts to organize growing protest movements that were inspired by or similar to the Arab Spring in the Arab-majority states of North Africa and the Middle East, according to commentators, organisers, and critics. These demonstrations and protest efforts have all been critical of the government in their respective countries, though they have ranged from calls for the incumbent government to make certain policy changes to attempts to bring down the current political system in its entirety. In some countries, protests have become large or widespread enough to effect change at the national level, as in Armenia, while in others, such as Djibouti, were swiftly suppressed.
The 2011 Azerbaijani protests were a series of demonstrations held to protest the government of President Ilham Aliyev. Common themes espoused by demonstrators, many of whom were affiliated with Müsavat and the Popular Front Party, the main opposition parties in Azerbaijan, included doubts as to the legitimacy of the 2008 presidential election, desire for the release of political prisoners, calls for democratic reforms, and demands that Aliyev and his government resign from power. Azerbaijani authorities responded with a security crackdown, dispersing protests and curtailing attempts to gather with force and numerous arrests.
The issue of human rights in Djibouti, a small country situated within the Horn of Africa, is a matter of concern for several human rights organizations.
The 2011–2012 Maldives political crisis began as a series of peaceful protests that broke out in the Maldives on 1 May 2011. They would continue, eventually escalating into the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed in disputed circumstances in February 2012. Demonstrators were protesting what they considered the government's mismanagement of the economy and were calling for the ouster of President Nasheed. The main political opposition party in the country, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party led by the former president of the country Maumoon Abdul Gayoom accused President Nasheed of "talking about democracy but not putting it into practice." The protests occurred during the Arab Spring.
The Arab Spring unrests and revolutions unfolded in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, and in the rest of the region, some becoming violent, some facing strong suppression efforts, and some resulting in political changes.
The following lists events that happened during 2011 in Djibouti.
Freedom of the press in Djibouti is not specifically mentioned by the country's constitution. However, Article 15 of the Constitution of Djibouti] does mention an individual's right to express their opinion "...by word, pen, or image..." and notes that "these rights may be limited by prescriptions in the law and in respect for the honour of others."
Protests against Faure Gnassingbé have occurred throughout Togo, starting when President Faure Gnassingbé assumed power after the death of his father Gnassingbé Eyadéma in February 2005.
The 2010 Belarusian protests were mass protest actions in Belarus against the results of the 2010 Belarusian presidential election, which took place on December 19, 2010 and were brutally dispersed. Between 10,000 and 60,000 people took part in the protest on October Square and Independence Square in Minsk. It was announced that a people's movement for free elections would be created without Lukashenka. Some participants tried to break into the Government House. Clashes with riot police took place. As a result, dozens of people were detained and beaten, including presidential candidates Khaklyaeu, Sannikov, Kastusyou, Statkevich, and Rymasheuski.
