Djibouti holds parliamentary vote branded as sham by opposition
The tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti is voting in parliamentary elections on Friday that have been boycotted by the main opposition parties, who have branded the polls a sham.
Only two parties are contesting seats in the 65-member National Assembly, where veteran President Ismail Omar Guelleh’s ruling Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP) is assured of victory.
Despite its diminutive size, Djibouti enjoys a strategically crucial position at the mouth of the Red Sea, using it to woo trade investors and foreign military powers.
The opposition charges that the poll, which follows a presidential ballot in April 2021 that saw Guelleh re-elected for a fifth term with 97 percent of the vote, will not be free and fair.