US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI213

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000213 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/E, DRL; LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, SOCI, DJ 
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI SEEKING WILLING CANDIDATES TO RUN FOR 
PRESIDENT 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) The February 27th evening news in Djibouti launched an 
open appeal to Djiboutians to be candidates in the upcoming 
Presidential elections, currently scheduled for April 8th. 
The news announced, "It is now official, if there are male or 
female Djiboutian candidates who would like to partake in the 
Presidential elections, it is high time they did it. They 
only have to register as candidates before March 8th, 
midnight." This development follows press releases issued by 
the opposition party, Djiboutian Party for Development (PDD), 
"clarifying" their leader's supposed candidacy. 
 
2. (C) Rumors surround Mohamed Daoud Chehem, who in the Fall 
of 2004 announced that he would run as his party's candidate 
in Djibouti's 2005 Presidential elections. A press release 
issued February 21, 2005 by the party's Secretary General 
denied any involvement by PDD members or leaders in the 
previous day's swearing in of the National Independent 
Electoral Commission (CENI) and clarified that PDD had not 
yet held a congress to decide its position regarding the 
elections. According to word on the street, Chehem is no 
longer in Djibouti, and it is unclear whether he intends to 
return. One rumor indicated that Chehem went to Europe with 
his family and did not plan to come back to Djibouti. Other 
rumors indicated he was in Europe on activities related to 
his candidacy. PDD is apparently split between factions that 
support Chehem's candidacy and those that want him to rejoin 
the opposition coalition and boycott the election. 
 
3. (U) Contrary to the PDD press release of February 21, the 
government-run newspaper, La Nation, ran a small article 
February 28 with the title of "PDD confirms its participation 
in the presidential elections of 2005." The article continued 
that Chehem clarified his position in a February 14th press 
release stating the PDD would participate in the upcoming 
elections "to show its good will towards international 
opinion." It also stated that Chehem would be campaigning 
among the Djiboutian diaspora in Europe, the United States, 
and Canada in order to curry electoral and financial support. 
Chehem's statement to the press said his travels through 
Europe would focus on explaining to the diaspora the reasons 
for his candidacy in the coming elections. 
 
4. (C) Comment: With the public announcement, it appears the 
Government is desperately seeking a candidate to run for 
President against the incumbent, Ismail Omar Guelleh. It is 
post's opinion that this is to make the elections more 
palatable to the international community as open, free and 
fair. Post is unsure whether Chehem will actually run 
considering the rift his candidacy has caused within his own 
party. The fact that La Nation printed a positive article 
regarding Chehem's supposed candidacy could indicate that 
there is some truth to rumors that the Government is backing 
Chehem in order to ensure a multi-candidate race. End Comment. 
RAGSDALE