Guelleh, 77, has held power since 1999 in the tiny Horn of Africa nation, a major port that hosts military bases for the United States, France, and China.

In a first vote at the weekend, Djibouti’s lawmakers unanimously approved a change to the constitution to remove a bar on running for president past the age of 75.

Guelleh approved the first vote, and the amendment will now pass for final approval on Sunday — opening the way for him to run in the next election in April 2026.

“There will be no problem, even the opposition supports us,” said speaker Dileita Mohamed Dileita.

Djibouti has a poor record on freedom of expression and the press.

But Dileita earlier told AFP the constitutional change was necessary to ensure “the stability of the small country, in a troubled region, the Horn of Africa, with Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea”.

Guelleh won the last election in 2021 with 97 percent of the vote and his party, the Union for the Presidential Majority, holds the majority of parliamentary seats.

He succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the father of Djibouti’s independence, in 1999 after serving as his chief of staff for 22 years.

Djibouti has only around one million inhabitants but lies on the strategic trade route of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the Red Sea.