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Djibouti

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

February 2023

Ruling coalition wins 94% of vote in Djibouti’s parliamentary elections

On 24 February, Djibouti held a parliamentary election, and in a  result that was widely anticipated President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh’s ruling coalition, the Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP), received 94 per cent of the vote. This vote share translated into 58 of the National Assembly’s 65 seats (up from 57 in 2018), with the remaining 7 seats won by the Djibouti Union for Democracy and Justice, the only opposition party to contest the elections. The result maintains Guelleh’s control over the National Assembly, which has been dominated by the party he leads, the People’s Rally for Progress (latterly through the UMP) since independence in 1977. Djibouti’s main opposition parties boycotted the election, calling it ‘a sham.’ However, international observers from the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) characterized the poll as free and fair. Notwithstanding reports of low voter turnout from the local media and election observers, the government reported it to be 75.9 per cent (up from 61.8 per cent in 2018).       

Sources: The Constitutional Council, Voice of America, Inter-Parliamentary Union, African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Al Jazeera, International IDEA

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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

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Representation
132/173
Rights
124/173
Rule of Law
126/173
Participation
140/173
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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
1 136 455
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed (since 2013)
Head of government party
People's Rally for Progress
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Parallel
Women in lower or single chamber
26.2%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Head of state
President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
09/11/2023
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
Outcome decision pending
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
Arab Charter on Human Rights
No Action
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Representation
Representation
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/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
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/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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