Electoral/Political Party Reform – 2002
2002
On September 30, 2002, Djibouti government issued a decree (No. 2002-0198/PR/MID) related to the amendment on the composition and functioning of the Independent National Electoral Commission. The decree had the following provisions:
Article 3: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the District of Djibouti, is composed of: Three (3) members appointed by the Government; Three (3) members appointed by the President of the National Assembly taking into account its political configuration; Three (3) judges elected in general assembly of judges; Are not eligible members of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Council [sic]; Three representatives from civil society. A person appointed by each political party duly constituted each institution chooses or elects one member and one alternate, up to the quota allocated to it.
In September 2002, “President Ismail Omar Guelleh announced the introduction of a full multiparty political system”. The 1992 constitution restricted the number of political parties to four. According to a new provision, all “parties would be recognised, subject to approval by the Interior Ministry.”1
Following the introduction of a multiparty system in September, the Union for Democracy and Justice, led by Ismail Guedi Hared, was registered by the Interior Ministry on October 22, 2002.2
The legislative elections were to be held in December 2002, but postponed until January 10, 2003 to allow newly registered political parties time to organize. In a statement the Interior Minister (on November 14, 2002) reported the approval of the creation of the People’s Social Democratic Party (PPSD), led by a former foreign minister and former secretary general of the ruling Popular Rally for Progress (RPP) Moumin Bahdon Farah, and the Djibouti Development Party (PDD), led by the former director of the Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Daoud Chechem.3