Djibouti, 21 February 2018 – H.E Mr. Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, Prime Minister of the Republic of Djibouti and Chief of the presidential majority on 21 February 2018, received in audience H.E. Mr. Anicet-Georges Dologuélé, Head of the African Union (AU) Elections Observation Mission, and former Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. The meeting was aimed at assessing the political landscape and the state of preparedness of the country ahead of the February 23 Legislative Elections.

Prime Minister (PM) Abdoulkader Mohamed welcomed the initiative of the African Union to send a strong delegation to observe the elections in Djibouti, particularly as Djibouti is also a Member country of the AU. He expressed satisfaction with the political maturity of the Djiboutian politicians who have carried out the different campaign peacefully, by avoiding provocative verbal language that could lead to physical or verbal violence. The PM said all the stages of the electoral process was done transparently in a calm environment. He saluted the initiative of the President of the Republic of Djibouti, H.E Mr. Ismail Omar Gulleh, for declaring the quota of 25 % to encourage women’s participation in the legislative elections as future members of parliament. “Of the 65 parliamentarians, women will henceforth occupy 17 seats in the National Assembly and in the near future gender parity will improve”, he underlined.

The PM also indicated that all citizens are encouraged to register on the electoral list and collect their voter’s card to enable them exercise their civic duty as required. He said the electoral campaign will stop at midnight on this day.
Earlier, the Head of the AU Observers Mission and his delegation met with the Minister of Women and the Famille, H.E Mrs. Moumina Houmed Hassan, who presented the different programs of her ministry aimed at promoting women development and the youths. She explained that the education of the girl child in all sectors is at the center of her policies with the view to increasing the number of women in all domains of human endeavor. She expressed satisfaction with the 25% quota that allows a greater number of women as candidates on the electoral list of the upcoming legislative elections.

The Minister proposed to the AU delegation to seize the opportunity of their mission to visit the country’s historical sights. She said Djibouti is the only African country that has never engaged into war and that the goal of the governing bodies of the country is to consolidate a lasting peace to its people.

The AU Head of Observers Mission also visited the newly created National Commission of Communication dubbed (CNC). The president of the CNC, Mrs. Ouloufa Ismail Abdo and her collaborators, presented the mandate of the institution to the AU delegation. She said the CNC was created to enhance freedom of expression and the protection of the rights of journalists among others. One of the major achievement of this body is the distribution of equal time for all political parties to present their programs and ideologies to the population via the existing media channels. The local languages are used to reach out to the grass root population.

Meanwhile, the Head of the AU Observer’s Mission, paid a courtesy visit to the American Embassy in Djibouti where he was received by Ambassador Larry E. Andre, Jr. Discussions during the meeting was on the general impression around the ongoing electoral process in Djibouti.

H.E. Mr. Anicet-Georges Dologuélé later met with the representatives of the CDU opposition party before concluding his day with a visit to see the last political campaigns holding in the different popular areas of the city of Djibouti.

On 22 February 2018, the Head of AU Observers Mission met with the President of the National Human Rights Commission and later with the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Djibouti.

For any other information, please contact:

Karine Kakasi Siaba: +253 77 27 30 48
Email: Kakasik@africa-union.org
Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit (DEAU)
Department of Political Affairs | Commission of the African Union

For media information, please contact:

Esther Azaa Tankou: +253 77 43 43 35
E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org
Directorate of Information and Communication | Commission of the African Union
E-mail: dinfo@africanunion.org I Website: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

Follow us:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfricanUnionCommission
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_AfricanUnion
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/AUCommission
Learn more about: http://www.au.africa