Djiboutian presidential election, 2011

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Djiboutian presidential election, 2011

Flag of Djibouti.svg


  2005 8 April 2011 (2011-04-08) 2016  

111,547 Votes

  Ismail Omar Guelleh 2010.jpg No image.png
Nominee Ismaïl Omar Guelleh Mohamed Warsama Ragueh
Party RPP Independent
Popular vote 89,942 21,605
Percentage 80.63% 19.37%

President before election

Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
RPP

Elected President

Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
RPP

Coat of arms of Djibouti.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Djibouti
Constitution

Voters in Djibouti re-elected President Ismail Omar Guelleh by an 80% margin in that nation's April 8, 2011 presidential election. [1] [2] He defeated Mohamed Warsama Ragueh, an attorney and former judge who took 19% of the vote.

Mohamed Warsama Ragueh is a Djiboutian lawyer and former judge. He was the president of the Constitutional Council and a candidate in the 2011 presidential election.He could only secure 19% of the vote losing to Ismail Omar Guelleh who won 80% of the votes. cast Djibouti's opposition coalitions boycotted the election, saying it would not be free and fair, leaving only President Guelleh and Ragueh, who had served as President of Djibouti's Constitutional Council in 2005. Ragueh complained about irregularities in the voting.

Contents

Djibouti's opposition coalitions boycotted the election, saying it would not be free and fair, [3] leaving only President Guelleh and Ragueh, who had served as President of Djibouti's Constitutional Council in 2005. [4] [5] Ragueh has complained about irregularities in the voting. [6]

Run up to the election

In April 2010, the National Assembly of Djibouti amended the Constitution to allow Guelleh to stand for a third term. Presidents had been limited to two terms. [7] Coinciding with the wider Arab Spring, protesters began calling for President Guelleh's ouster beginning in February 2011. [8] On at least two occasions the government has detained opposition leaders and has imprisoned many protesters. [9] [10]

Arab Spring Protests and revolutions in the Arab world in the 2010s

The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in late 2010. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, beginning with protests in Tunisia. In the news, social media has been heralded as the driving force behind the swift spread of revolution throughout the world, as new protests appear in response to success stories shared from those taking place in other countries. In many countries, the governments have also recognized the importance of social media for organizing and have shut down certain sites or blocked Internet service entirely, especially in the times preceding a major rally. Governments have also scrutinized or suppressed discussion in those forums through accusing content creators of unrelated crimes or shutting down communication on specific sites or groups, such as through Facebook.

Democracy International (DI), an organization funded by USAID, had been in the country since November planning to monitor the elections, but was told to leave by the government in March 21, 2011 after officials questioned its impartiality. [11] [12] The African Union and the U.S. and French embassies sent some observers to monitor the elections, as did other regional groups.

Another potential candidate, businessman Abdourahman Boreh, who lives in self-imposed exile in London, did not participate because Guelleh was on the ballot. [13] [14]

Guelleh was sworn in for his third term on 8 May 2011. [15]

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Ismail Omar Guelleh People's Rally for Progress 89,94280.63
Mohamed Warsama Ragueh Independent21,605
Invalid/blank votes
Total111,547100
Registered voters/turnout152,00073.39
Source: IFES

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References

  1. International Foundation for Electoral Systems Elections Guide
  2. Djibouti Djibouti validates presidential election , Middle East Online, April 13, 2011
  3. Djibouti president set for a hat-trick at the polls, AFP via Ahram Online, April 5, 2011
  4. Afrol News,Djibouti opposition boycotts election, March 11, 2011
  5. Warsama campaign statement (in French), Assajog Archived September 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine .
  6. Davidson, William, Djiboutian President Guelleh Wins Vote; Human Rights Watch Doubts Fairness , Bloomberg, April 9, 2011
  7. IOL News, Djibouti lawmakers remove term limits, April 11, 2010
  8. Al Jazeera, Djiboutians rally to oust president, February 18, 2011
  9. Davison, William, Bloomberg News,Djibouti Forces Arrest Opposition Leaders, Scuppering Protests, March 11, 2011
  10. Human Rights Watch, Djibouti: Allow Peaceful Protests , April 4, 2011
  11. Manson, Katrina, Financial Times, Election observers quit Djibouti, March 15, 2011
  12. Straziuso, Jason (18 March 2011). "Djibouti evicts US vote group ahead of election". Associated Press . Retrieved 24 March 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. both at Reuters, Djibouti opposition boycotts presidential election, March 11, 2011
  14. A Reform Programme for Djibouti , Boreh's campaign website
  15. "Special envoy of Chinese president attends Djiboutian president's sworn in ceremony", Xinhua, 9 May 2011.