GENERAL UPDATE
Civic space in Djibouti remains severely restricted. As previously reported in the Monitor, Djibouti is one of the most repressive environments for independent actors in Africa, and is rated as closed. The past few months were marked by constitutional changes that facilitate continued executive dominance, a presidential election held with limited competition, and allegations of arbitrary arrests targeting journalists and critics.
In October-November 2025, the Djiboutian Parliament (National Assembly) adopted a partial revision of the country’s Constitution, removing the presidential age limit as well as term limits, tightening eligibility requirements, and weakening referendum safeguards. These reforms further locked the political system as President Ismail Omar Guelleh, 78, who has been in power since 1999, would have been barred from running again by the 2010 constitutional amendment imposing a 75-year age limit. The 2025 amendments have drawn criticism from opposition parties and civil society, who say the amendments institute a life presidency.
In April 2026, Guelleh won re-election for a sixth term with 97.8% of the votes, drawing little international attention. Analysts raised the presidential election’s context, as opposition parties boycotted the poll and external actors prioritised stability in Djibouti. In a diplomatically-worded statement, the regional organisation IGAD noted that “greater inclusivity, political competition and institutional independence are essential to strengthening the credibility of future elections.” However, the African Union (AU) Election Observation Mission dispatched by the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf (a former Djiboutian foreign minister), raised no concern. The Mission considered that “the presidential election complied with the national legal framework for elections and the relevant international, continental and regional standards.”
Association
Following the Parliament’s adoption of the 2025 constitutional amendments, the Bloc for National Salvation (BSN), an opposition coalition consisting of the Republican Alliance for Development (ARD), the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), and the Movement for Development and Freedom (MODEL), called for a democratic transition. In protest, several opposition parties boycotted the April 2026 presidential election.
Peaceful Assembly
On 16th January 2026, as reported by the Association for the Respect of Human Rights in Djibouti (ARDHD), the Djiboutian League for Human Rights (LDDH) denounced the 14th January 2026 arrest by riot police of young activists who gathered peacefully in downtown Djibouti City to demand jobs and denounce unemployment, poverty, and the high cost of living. It reported that dozens were taken into custody in various districts of the capital. Public gatherings remain rare occurrences in the country and are often met with immediate dispersal and arrests.
Expression
According to ARDHD, which cited the LDDH and Kaab TV, on 20th November 2025, police officers arrested a journalist and a cameraman linked to a social media programme "Speak of Your Rights," launched by the RADDE opposition party. The program had garnered public attention by highlighting the rights of Djiboutian citizens.
Separately, in early January 2026, the LDDH denounced the arrest of two Djiboutian citizens, Rachid Atteye and Bachir Maki, linking the former’s arrest to his denunciation, on X (formerly Twitter), of the “unsanitary conditions” in Djibouti. LDDH stated that as of 8th January 2026, Atteye had been held for over a month at Gabode prison.