Elections and Political Processes (DEPP)

In 2010, Democracy International began work on a two–year comprehensive election project in Djibouti in collaboration with the Djiboutian government and funded by USAID. The program aimed to build confidence in the electoral system of Djibouti through building the capacity of electoral administrators, encouraging public awareness and participation, enhancing political dialogue, and supporting electoral supervision and international observation.

DI successfully deployed four pre-election missions and issued pre-election reports in November 2010 and January 2011. On February 18, 2011, thousands of Djiboutians participated in an initially peaceful protest against the president’s rule. In response, security forces ordered people to disperse, fired tear gas, and arrested scores of protestors. On March 4,2011, just over one month before election day, the government of Djibouti falsely accused DI of partisanship and providing assistance to antigovernment protestors and declared DI’s activities illegal. Subsequently, the government ordered DI to leave the country. In compliance with the order, DI ended its mission and departed.