Category World News

The constitutional age cap for presidential candidates has been removed by Djibouti’s parliament, allowing Ismail Omar Guelleh to run for reelection even though he is only 77 years old.

The move would allow the veteran leader to run in April 2026 elections was approved by all 65 of the present lawmakers on Sunday. A second parliamentary vote on November 2 or a national referendum are required to make the choice.

Guelleh, who served as the country’s founding president in 1999, is credited with leading the Horn of Africa nation.

Guelleh himself introduced the constitutional ban in 2010 along with changes that reduced the term limits for the president from six to five.

Dileita Mohamed Dileita, the speaker of the National Assembly, argued that a change was necessary to maintain stability in a troubled region. Although Al Jazeera cannot verify this claim, he claimed that the measure’s public support exceeded 80%.

Guelleh indicated in a key interview with the magazine Jeune Afrique earlier this year that he had no desire to give up power. He said, “I love my country too much to take on irresponsible adventure and cause divisions,” and that is all I can say.

The move was seen as a step toward permanent rule, according to rights advocates. Omar Ali Ewado, the head of the Djiboutian League for Human Rights, said that the revision “prepared a presidency for life,” instead urging a peaceful democratic transition.

International partners should reconsider their priorities, according to Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development leader Daher Ahmed Farah. The Djiboutian people own these interests, he said, not just a single man. “The country is in a strategic position and hosts many bases.

After opposition groups boycotted the election, Guelleh won his fifth term in 2021 with more than 98 percent of the vote. The United States applauded the outcome at the time, but it urged the government to “more effectively strengthen its democratic institutions and processes in accordance with the recommendations made by the observer missions.”

After Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power for nearly four decades, and Isaias Afwerki, who has been in power for 27 years, Guelleh is East Africa’s third-longest-serving leader.

Djibouti has a large amount of geopolitical influence despite having only a population of one million. Along with installations run by France, China, Japan, and Italy, the nation also has the only permanent US military base in Africa. It is crucial for international shipping between Asia and Europe because of its position overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Prior to planned joint military exercises, the USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer, made its way to Trinidad on Sunday with US Marines on board.

The warship can operate helicopters and has modern weapons. Its most recent activities include deploying for anti-narcotics operations.

The US military presence in the Caribbean has increased in recent weeks as it continues to expand its military presence there, where it has launched controversial, deadly strikes against boats that Washington claims are involved in drug trafficking.

The Pentagon announced on Friday that it would send the USS Gerald R Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, to the area, further escalating the conflict.

Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, claimed Washington was “fabricating” a war against him after winning re-election last year in what the US has criticized as a fraudulent election.

The US president has claimed that Maduro is the leader of Tren de Aragua, an organized crime organization, without providing any proof.

Julia Galiano, a journalist for Al Jazeera, reported from Port of Spain on Sunday, saying the government of Trinidad wanted to reassure the country’s citizens that their arrival shouldn’t cause them any concern.

The US vessel’s presence was not a prelude to war, according to the nation’s defense minister, who spoke to Al Jazeera on Saturday. Joint military exercises were conducted frequently.

Galiano claimed, however, that the warship’s residents had “a lot more reservations.”

People we spoke to today, for instance, told us in the Sunday market that they were afraid of what this might mean for their nation, she said.

Similar concerns were expressed by Trinidadis who spoke to news organizations.

We as people who live on the margins of Venezuela and America could face a lash at any time, according to 64-year-old Daniel Holder, who spoke to the AFP news agency.

He continued, “I oppose having my country be a part of this.”

According to Javed Ali, an associate professor with a specialization in national security at the University of Michigan, “the use of a significant amount of military force” was a “significant amount of military force” was used to impose pressure on the Maduro regime, according to Al Jazeera on Sunday.

He continued, “It’s very hard to know what the White House is thinking,” noting that Venezuela’s lack of US military support prevented an invasion.

It wouldn’t have been with such a small footprint if the US had waged wars in the past, Ali said.

Washington’s largest military deployment in the area since its invasion of Panama in 1989 included eight navy ships, ten F-35 warplanes, and a nuclear-powered submarine as part of its anti-drug operations.