The president, who holds most executive power, serves five-year terms without term limits. President Guelleh was elected to a fifth term in April 2021 with 97 percent of the vote, according to the Interior Ministry. Of the nearly 215,000 citizens registered to vote, more than 80 percent cast ballots, according to the African Union (AU) observation mission. The AU monitors also reported that the polls were conducted competently, though the main opposition parties boycotted the contest, alleging that the election administration would be neither free nor fair.

The 65 members of the unicameral National Assembly are directly elected for five-year terms. Constitutional changes in 2010 called for the creation of an upper house, which had yet to be established as of 2023.

Parliamentary elections were held in February 2023. Opposition parties, except for the Djiboutian Union for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), boycotted the February legislative elections. The boycotting parties deemed the election “not free, not transparent, and not democratic,” and alleged that the ruling coalition would rig the polls in its favor. The ruling UMP ultimately took 58 out of the 65 seats, while the UDJ took the remaining 7.

Most of the opposition also boycotted legislative elections held in 2018, citing the government’s failure to honor a 2014 political agreement that provided for electoral reform. The 2018 polls were marked by irregularities, and the ruling UMP increased its majority to 57 of 65 seats. The opposition UDF–Djiboutian Democratic Party (PDD) won seven seats, and the Center of Unified Democrats (CDU) took one.

In 2022, authorities held regional and communal elections that the UMP won while facing almost no competition; the only area where other lists competed was Ali Sabieh. Opposition parties were either limited in their activities or simply boycotted the polls, which they did not perceive as free or fair.

A core element of the 2014 political agreement—meant to end the opposition’s boycott of the legislature following deeply flawed elections in 2013—was a pledge to reform the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which the opposition has accused of bias. These reforms had not been carried out as of 2022. Other electoral provisions favor the dominant party, for example by awarding at least 80 percent of the seats in each multimember parliamentary district to the party that wins a majority in that district.

While Djibouti technically has a multiparty political system, parties must register with the government to operate legally. The authorities have denied recognition to a number of opposition parties, including the Rally for Democratic Action and Ecological Development (RADDE) and the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD); members of such parties have been periodically harassed, arrested, and prosecuted, and their offices have been raided by police.

In July 2023, police arrested several RADDE leaders, including the party’s secretary general, Mahdi Moussa Darar. The RADDE members were accused of illegally using police and army uniforms in a performance that was uploaded to YouTube in June and featured songs critical of the government.

President Guelleh has been in power since 1999, when he succeeded his uncle, the only other president since independence in 1977. Opposition parties have traditionally been disadvantaged by Djibouti’s electoral system, media controls, abuse of state resources to favor incumbents, and arrests and harassment of opposition leaders and supporters.

The ruling party dominates the state apparatus and uses security forces and other administrative resources to marginalize, disrupt, and suppress independent political activity.

The constitution prohibits political parties based on gender or on ethnic, religious, or regional identity. The president’s majority Issa group holds paramount positions in the ruling party, the civil service, and the security forces. Members of the Afar community are marginalized and in response have formed groups such as the militant FRUD–Armé, a splinter group of the Front for the Restoration and Democracy (FRUD) political party that has attacked government installations throughout Djibouti.

Women are underrepresented in leadership positions. A legal quota ensures that women hold at least 25 percent of the seats in the National Assembly, and the actual number is only slightly above that level. In practice, the authoritarian political system restricts the ability of women and members of ethnic and religious minorities to organize independently and advance their respective interests.

The president, who is not freely elected, effectively controls policymaking and governance, and the UMP–dominated parliament does not serve as a meaningful check on executive power.

Corruption is a serious problem that is enabled and sustained by the dominant position of President Guelleh and his ruling party in every aspect of public administration. All significant business deals reportedly go through the president himself.

State bodies tasked with combating corruption lack the resources and independence to function effectively. Prosecutions of senior officials are rare. When senior officials are prosecuted, cases are often pursued selectively and politicized.

The government operates in an opaque manner and resists attempts to shed light on its policymaking, budgetary, and procurement decisions.

There is also little transparency on President Guelleh’s investment deals with the Chinese government and other foreign entities, which have resulted in a massive amount of public debt and spread discontent among local communities that were not consulted on the location or terms of foreign development projects.

Despite constitutional protections, freedom of expression is not upheld in practice, and journalists engage in self-censorship. Defamation and distribution of false information are criminal offenses. The National Communication Commission distributes licenses to media outlets; the National Security Service reportedly has a role in approving such licenses. The government owns the dominant newspaper, television station, and radio broadcaster, as well as printing presses.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), domestic media content generally reflects government views. Journalists affiliated with outlets based abroad or small opposition publications are subject to harassment and arbitrary arrest. The websites of overseas opposition radio station La Voix de Djibouti, run by exiles in Europe, and the Association for Respect for Human Rights in Djibouti (ARDHD) are sometimes blocked by the state-owned internet service provider (ISP).

In May 2023, Djibouti authorities arrested Gobeze Sisay, an Ethiopian journalist vocal in his opposition to the Ethiopian government, and handed him over to Ethiopian authorities.

Islam is the state religion, and 94 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim. The Islamic Affairs Ministry oversees religious matters. Registered non-Muslim religious groups operate freely, and unregistered groups are able to worship in private, though public proselytizing is illegal.

Academic freedom is not always respected. Teachers have at times been detained for alleged affiliation with opposition groups. The state oversees the curriculums of the secular public school system and private Islamic schools.

Open discussion of sensitive political issues is impeded by restrictive laws on defamation and other such offenses. The government reportedly monitors social media and conducts surveillance on perceived opponents. Individuals are subject to arrest for posting critical content about the government online.

In 2021, air force lieutenant Fouad Youssouf Ali, who had called for an uprising against the state the year before, was referred to a criminal court on treason charges, where he was convicted of attempting to incite a coup and attempted theft of military property. The court sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment with an additional fine of 300,000 Djiboutian francs ($1,700)—he had already been fined 2 million francs ($11,254), payable to the state.

Freedom of assembly is protected under the constitution but not respected in practice. Permits are required for public gatherings. Police regularly use violence to disperse unauthorized protests and arrest participants.

Local human rights groups that work on politically sensitive matters cannot operate freely, face difficulties in registering with the authorities, and are subject to government harassment. Individual activists are regularly arrested for their work.

In March 2023, Alexis Deswaef, vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), was arrested and deported from Djibouti, while one of his colleagues was turned away at the airport. Both were supposed to conduct a fact-finding mission assessing the working conditions for human rights defenders in Djibouti.

While workers may legally join unions and strike, the union registration process is onerous and subject to government discretion, which the Labor Ministry has used to favor progovernment unions and deny registration to independent labor groups. The government has been known to intimidate labor leaders and obstruct union activities.

The courts are not independent of the government and suffer from corruption. Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president, with the advice of a judicial council dominated by presidential and UMP nominees. The president and parliamentary majority also control appointments to the Constitutional Council.

Security forces frequently make arrests without the required court approval, and lengthy pretrial detention is a problem, with detainees often waiting years to go to trial. Allegations of politically motivated prosecutions are common.

Security forces regularly engage in physical abuse and torture during arrest and detention. Prison conditions are reportedly poor, with pretrial and convicted prisoners often held together due to overcrowding. In recent years, there has been an uptick in fatal violence committed by security forces with impunity, including the killing of at least two people in 2022.

In February 2022, security forces arrested top officials within the police and the army on suspicion of plotting a coup.

In October 2022, the FRUD–Armé, an armed opposition group that has been active since 1991, attacked a military base in Garabistan, killing seven soldiers.

Though the law provides for equal treatment of all Djiboutian citizens, Somali Issas control the ruling party and dominate government positions.

Djibouti is a major transit country for irregular migrants, with an estimated 200,000 people arriving in the country each year, many of whom then attempt to cross the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Peninsula. During 2023, Djibouti authorities launched a crackdown on irregular migrants. Approximately 3,000 migrants were arrested in Djibouti City in April, and the government has urged irregular migrants to register with the authorities.

Women have fewer employment opportunities and are paid less than men for the same work. A law which requires at least 20 percent of upper-level public service positions be held by women is not enforced.

Same-sex sexual activity is not specifically banned, but such conduct has been penalized under broader morality laws, and there are no laws in place to prevent discrimination against LGBT+ people.

The government has been accused of suspending the travel privileges of political opponents. In April 2023, MRD European coordinator Moustapha Ahmed Ali was arrested at the airport and deported a week later without being able to visit his family in Djibouti as planned.

Civilian movement is restricted in militarized border areas due to past activity by the FRUD–Armé and tensions with Eritrea.

Private property protections are weak, and court proceedings on business and property matters are affected by corruption and political influence.

Customary practices and personal status rules based on Sharia (Islamic law) place women at a disadvantage regarding inheritance and property ownership.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal, but most women and girls have undergone the procedure. Domestic violence is rarely reported and prosecuted, and spousal rape is not specifically criminalized.

Many residents have difficulty finding employment in the formal sector, as the president and his allies tightly control all large-scale economic activity. Legal safeguards against exploitative working conditions are poorly enforced; migrant workers and refugees are especially vulnerable to abuse.