General elections in Djibouti 2008
The parliamentary elections in Djibouti in 2008 for the election of the National Assembly in the northeast African state of Djibouti took place on February 8, 2008.
Election result
In the previous elections in January 2003, the Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle (UMP) had won all 65 seats in the National Assembly under President Ismael Omar Guelleh , who had been in power since 1999. It comprised four parties: the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP), the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD), the Parti National Démocratique (PND) and the Parti Populaire Social Démocratique (PPSD).
The opposition alliance Union for Democratic Change (UAD), led by former Prime Minister Ahmed Dini , failed to win mandates in the 2003 election despite 28 percent of the vote due to the majority voting system at the time . She had therefore boycotted the presidential elections in 2005, in which Guelleh was re-elected. The UAD called for proportional representation before the election , but the government refused. Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita argued that such a system would upset the ethnic balance in Djibouti. The UAD then boycotted the 2008 elections on the grounds that they were undemocratic. His leader Ismaël Guedi Hared criticized the government for holding elections despite the opposition boycott. He accused the government of wanting to return to the de facto one-party system.
As a result, only the UMP, headed by Prime Minister Dileita, had nominated candidates for this election. This time the UMP also included the Union des Partisans de la Réforme (UPR). Of the 65 UMP candidates, nine were women. Her election promises were similar to the 2003 elections, where she promised better quality of life through economic development and national unity.
Almost 110,000 of the 151,000 registered voters took part in the elections, representing a turnout of over 72. About 103,000 voters voted for the UMP list.
The African Union and the Arab League , which monitored the elections, said they were “satisfied” with the way the election went, which they believed took place in “a democratic atmosphere”.
On February 20, 2008, the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and re-elected Idriss Arnaoud Ali (UMP) as president.
- Union pour la Majorité presidential : 65
| Political party | Seats |
|---|---|
| Union pour la Majorité President | 65 |