Incumbent President and presidential candidate Ismail Omar Guelleh held his final official campaign event on Wednesday evening, attracting a large crowd to the national Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium in the capital.
The rally featured thousands of Guelleh’s supporters waving campaign signs in green, the signature color of his ruling coalition, the Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP), which has nominated him for another five-year term.
Under the campaign slogan “IOG,” Guelleh assured the crowd that he and his party would continue to foster prosperity in Djibouti. The Horn of Africa nation, which has a service-based economy primarily driven by the Afar and Somali ethnic groups, has experienced significant growth in its logistics sector over the past two decades under Guelleh’s leadership.
Recently, the country inaugurated its largest shipyard, the Djibouti Ship Repair Yard. Furthermore, Djibouti has expanded its free trade zone, added more oil terminals, and plans to open new ports in the near future. Over the past 15 years, the nation’s GDP has tripled.
Wednesday’s rally was attended by senior government officials and business leaders.
