Bunge la Djibouti limepiga kura kwa kauli moja kuondoa kizuizi cha umri wa kugombea urais, hatua inayomruhusu Rais Ismail Omar Guelleh kugombea muhula wa sita madarakani
Guelleh, anayejulikana pia kama IOG, amekuwa madarakani tangu mwaka 1999 akiongoza taifa hilo dogo lililoko Pembe ya Afrika, ambalo ni kitovu muhimu cha bandari na mwenyeji wa kambi za kijeshi za Marekani, Ufaransa, na China
Kabla ya mabadiliko hayo, Katiba ya Djibouti ilikuwa ikimzuia mtu yeyote mwenye umri wa zaidi ya miaka 75 kugombea urais—ikiwa na maana kwamba Guelleh, mwenye umri wa miaka 77, asingestahili kugombea katika uchaguzi ujao wa Aprili 2026.
Hata hivyo, marekebisho ya kuondoa ukomo huo wa umri yaliungwa mkono na wabunge wote 65 waliohudhuria kikao hicho cha Jumapili, kwa mujibu wa Spika Dileita Mohamed Dileita aliyenukuliwa na shirika la habari la AFP
Rais anaweza sasa ama kuidhinisha uamuzi huo au kuitisha kura ya maoni. Iwapo ataukubali, bunge litathibitisha rasmi mabadiliko hayo kupitia kura ya pili inayotarajiwa kupigwa Novemba 2, 2025
Guelleh alishinda uchaguzi wa urais wa Aprili 2021 kwa zaidi ya asilimia 97% ya kura, huku chama chake cha Union for the Presidential Majority (UPM) kikishikilia viti vingi bungeni.
Spika Dileita alisema mabadiliko hayo ya katiba ni muhimu kwa ajili ya “kuhakikisha uthabiti wa taifa katika eneo lenye machafuko, Pembe ya Afrika.”
Guelleh alichukua madaraka mwaka 1999 kutoka kwa Hassan Gouled Aptidon, baba wa taifa la Djibouti, baada ya kumtumikia kama mkuu wa utumishi wa Rais kwa miaka 22
Djibouti, yenye idadi ya watu takriban milioni moja, ni miongoni mwa mataifa yenye umuhimu mkubwa kimkakati. Iko mkabala na Yemen, katika lango la Bahari Nyekundu (Bab el-Mandeb), njia muhimu ya biashara ya kimataifa kati ya Asia na Magharibi
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Djibouti's parliament voted unanimously to lift a presidential age limit on Sunday, opening the way for leader Ismail Omar Guelleh to run for a sixth term.
Guelleh, known as IOG, has held power since 1999 in the Horn of Africa nation, a major port that hosts military bases for the United States, France, and China.
Djibouti's Constitution says the head of state cannot run for office after 75, which would have prevented Guelleh, 77, from running in the next election in April 2026.
But an amendment to remove the age limit was backed by all 65 parliamentarians present on Sunday, Speaker Dileita Mohamed Dileita told AFP.
'I love my country too much': Ismail Omar Guelleh
The president can choose to approve the decision or call a referendum.
If approved, parliament will confirm the decision with a second vote, expected on November 2.
Guelleh left the door open to another five-year term in an interview this May with The Africa Report.
"All I can tell you is that I love my country too much to embark on an irresponsible adventure and be the cause of divisions," he said.
President won last election with 97% of the vote
Speaker Dileita told AFP the constitutional change was necessary to ensure "the stability of the country in a troubled region, the Horn of Africa."
"I think more than 80 percent of the population supports this," he said.
In April 2021, Guelleh was re-elected with more than 97% of the vote.
His party, the Union for the Presidential Majority, holds the majority of parliamentary seats.
Strategic role
Guelleh succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the founding father of Djibouti's independence, in 1999 after serving as his chief of staff for 22 years.
One of the least populated countries on the continent with one million people, Djibouti plays a strategic role in the region.
It lies opposite Yemen at the mouth of the Red Sea, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which passes a large part of global trade between Asia and the West.
Source: TRT Afrika
Guelleh, anayejulikana pia kama IOG, amekuwa madarakani tangu mwaka 1999 akiongoza taifa hilo dogo lililoko Pembe ya Afrika, ambalo ni kitovu muhimu cha bandari na mwenyeji wa kambi za kijeshi za Marekani, Ufaransa, na China
Kabla ya mabadiliko hayo, Katiba ya Djibouti ilikuwa ikimzuia mtu yeyote mwenye umri wa zaidi ya miaka 75 kugombea urais—ikiwa na maana kwamba Guelleh, mwenye umri wa miaka 77, asingestahili kugombea katika uchaguzi ujao wa Aprili 2026.
Hata hivyo, marekebisho ya kuondoa ukomo huo wa umri yaliungwa mkono na wabunge wote 65 waliohudhuria kikao hicho cha Jumapili, kwa mujibu wa Spika Dileita Mohamed Dileita aliyenukuliwa na shirika la habari la AFP
Rais anaweza sasa ama kuidhinisha uamuzi huo au kuitisha kura ya maoni. Iwapo ataukubali, bunge litathibitisha rasmi mabadiliko hayo kupitia kura ya pili inayotarajiwa kupigwa Novemba 2, 2025
Guelleh alishinda uchaguzi wa urais wa Aprili 2021 kwa zaidi ya asilimia 97% ya kura, huku chama chake cha Union for the Presidential Majority (UPM) kikishikilia viti vingi bungeni.
Spika Dileita alisema mabadiliko hayo ya katiba ni muhimu kwa ajili ya “kuhakikisha uthabiti wa taifa katika eneo lenye machafuko, Pembe ya Afrika.”
Guelleh alichukua madaraka mwaka 1999 kutoka kwa Hassan Gouled Aptidon, baba wa taifa la Djibouti, baada ya kumtumikia kama mkuu wa utumishi wa Rais kwa miaka 22
Djibouti, yenye idadi ya watu takriban milioni moja, ni miongoni mwa mataifa yenye umuhimu mkubwa kimkakati. Iko mkabala na Yemen, katika lango la Bahari Nyekundu (Bab el-Mandeb), njia muhimu ya biashara ya kimataifa kati ya Asia na Magharibi
Djibouti's parliament voted unanimously to lift a presidential age limit on Sunday, opening the way for leader Ismail Omar Guelleh to run for a sixth term.
Guelleh, known as IOG, has held power since 1999 in the Horn of Africa nation, a major port that hosts military bases for the United States, France, and China.
Djibouti's Constitution says the head of state cannot run for office after 75, which would have prevented Guelleh, 77, from running in the next election in April 2026.
But an amendment to remove the age limit was backed by all 65 parliamentarians present on Sunday, Speaker Dileita Mohamed Dileita told AFP.
'I love my country too much': Ismail Omar Guelleh
The president can choose to approve the decision or call a referendum.
If approved, parliament will confirm the decision with a second vote, expected on November 2.
Guelleh left the door open to another five-year term in an interview this May with The Africa Report.
"All I can tell you is that I love my country too much to embark on an irresponsible adventure and be the cause of divisions," he said.
President won last election with 97% of the vote
Speaker Dileita told AFP the constitutional change was necessary to ensure "the stability of the country in a troubled region, the Horn of Africa."
"I think more than 80 percent of the population supports this," he said.
In April 2021, Guelleh was re-elected with more than 97% of the vote.
His party, the Union for the Presidential Majority, holds the majority of parliamentary seats.
Strategic role
Guelleh succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the founding father of Djibouti's independence, in 1999 after serving as his chief of staff for 22 years.
One of the least populated countries on the continent with one million people, Djibouti plays a strategic role in the region.
It lies opposite Yemen at the mouth of the Red Sea, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which passes a large part of global trade between Asia and the West.
Source: TRT Afrika
