Djibouti: Opposition threaten to boycott 'questionable' presidential polls

In Djibouti, the Coalition of National Union of opposition is divided as three major parties have decided to boycot the upcoming elections.

“It sounds like our party has decided not to participate in the presidential election scheduled for April 8, 2016 because it considers that the elections will not be transparent. It is also fairly easy to understand that election framework that we agreed as opposition and government have not yet been met,” said Daher Ahmed Farah, an opposition candidate.

Djibouti Presidential Elections: Opposition threatens to boycott polls.#TVCNews

— TVC (@TVCconnect) March 31, 2016

Djibouti’s president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, has been in power for 17 years and is almost guaranteed re-election in the April polls.

The opposition in the north African nation are divided but say that they have embarked on formulating a major strategy for the coming elections in order to defeat the current government.

Another divide of the Coalition of National Union of opposition has agreed to participate in the ballot. Though they have not yet agreed on a single candidate, already two candidates, Mohamed Daoud Chehem and Omar Elmi Khaireh have filed their application to contest