ADDIS ABABA: Djibouti’s parliament will take a final vote on removing a presidential age limit on November 2, its speaker told AFP Wednesday, opening the way for leader Ismail Omar Guelleh to run for a sixth term.
Guelleh, 77, has held power since 1999 in the tiny Horn of Africa nation, a major port that hosts military bases for the United States, France, and China.
In a first vote at the weekend, Djibouti’s lawmakers unanimously approved a change to the constitution to remove a bar on running for president past the age of 75.
Guelleh approved the first vote, and the amendment will now pass for final approval on Sunday — opening the way for him to run in the next election in April 2026.
“There will be no problem, even the opposition supports us,” said speaker Dileita Mohamed Dileita.
Djibouti has a poor record on freedom of expression and the press.
But Dileita earlier told AFP the constitutional change was necessary to ensure “the stability of the small country, in a troubled region, the Horn of Africa, with Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.”
Guelleh won the last election in 2021 with 97 percent of the vote and his party, the Union for the Presidential Majority, holds the majority of parliamentary seats.
He succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the father of Djibouti’s independence, in 1999 after serving as his chief of staff for 22 years.
Djibouti has only around one million inhabitants but lies on the strategic trade route of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the Red Sea.
Djibouti final vote on removing president age limit on Nov 2
https://arab.news/jq6qr
Djibouti final vote on removing president age limit on Nov 2
- In a first vote at the weekend, Djibouti’s lawmakers unanimously approved a change to the constitution to remove a bar on running for president past the age of 75
Nigeria seeks French help to combat insecurity, says Macron
- African country has witnessed violence and mass kidnappings from schools
LAGOS: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings
from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
FASTFACTS
• US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians.
• The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
