At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Djibouti

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Hassan GOULED
• Head of Government: Prime Minister BARKAT Gourad Hamadou
• Assembly: Djibouti has a unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Assemblée nationale) with 65 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 6-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
• In the Chamber of Deputies (Assemblée nationale) 65 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Ismael Omar Guelleh
  • Party: Popular Rally for Progress
• Moussa Ahmed Idriss
  • Party: Independent

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election held was May 7, 1993. In the 1993 election, Hassan GOULED Aptidon received 60.76% of the vote and thus defeated Mohamed JAMA Elabe, his closest competitor with 22.03% of the vote.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 710,652 (1999)
• Registered Voters: 171,232 (1999)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 353,194 (1999)

·         Is Djibouti a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Djibouti ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (2 December 1998)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 0 (following the 1997 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 168 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Djibouti a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Djibouti ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (18 June 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 106,597 (est.)