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Djibouti

Jumhuriya Jibuti, Republique de Djibouti

Last modified: 2009-02-21 by rob raeside
Keywords: djibouti | jibuti | peace | sea | star (red) | afars |
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Mouvement pour le Renouveau Démocratique et le Développement (MRD, Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development)

The "Mouvement pour le Renouveau Démocratique et le Développement" (MRD, Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development) is the follower of the "Parti du Renouveau Démocratique" (PRD, Party of Democratic Renewal), the main opposition party in Djibouti, itself the follower of the "Mouvement pour la Paix et la Réconciliation" (MPR, Movement for Peace and Reconciliation).

In spite of significant popular success in the legislative elections in 1992 (24% of the votes), 1997 (19%) and 2003 (37%), the PRD was prevented by the election system to have any seat in the National Assembly. The PRD, together with the other opposition parties, boycotted the 2008 elections.

Article 1 of the party statutes says:
"[...]
The emblem and the flag of the party are made of a sailing ship confidently sailing on the water." (http://www.mrd-djibouti.org/Parti/StatutsTitre1.aspx)

On the small image shown on the top of the party website front page, the ship is gray with "MRD" written in black on the sail, the sky is white and there seems to be "MRD" written in white on the blue sea.
Ivan Sache, 29 November 2008


Party of Democratic Revival

On 4 September 1992, a draft of the Constitution was approved by the citizens of Djibouti. A law appended to the draft but never published, established multipartism, authorizing only four political parties. The MPR (Mouvement pour la Paix et la Réconciliation / Movement for Peace and Reconciliation) became a legal political party and changed its name to PRD (Parti du Renouveau Démocratique / Party of Democratic Revival). The founding congress of PRD was hold on 12 September 1992 in the house of the late Mohamed Djama Elabé, who was elected President of the PRD. On 27 September 1992, PRD was the first opposition party to register officially.

According to Article 1 of the PRD status, "[...] The emblem and the flag of the party are made of a white dove bearing an olive branch." The status does not prescribe the colour of the field on which the emblem has to be put.  Source: Party website, http://membres.lycos.fr/leprd/statut.htm
Ivan Sache, 12 August 2002


Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP, People's Rally for Progress)

[Djibouti: Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès] image by Jaume Ollé
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Frud-emblema.png

The "Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès" (RPP, People's Rally for Progress) was founded on 4 March 1979 by the first President of the Republic of Djibouti, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had been elected short after the proclamation of the Republic on 27 June 1977. After the reelection of President Gouled with 84% of the votes on 12 June 1981, the National Assembly proclaimed on 24 October 1981 the RPP as the sole authorized political party in Djibouti, a status maintained until the reintroduction of multipartism in September 1992. The RPP has been the dominant party in Djibouti since the independence, winning all the presidential and legislative elections, in 2003 and 2008 as the main component of the "Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle" (UMP).

Article 1 of the party statutes say:
"A political party called 'Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP)' has been created on 4 March 1979 in Dikhil (Republic of Djibouti). The emblem and flag of the party show on a white background a closed hand with the forefinger pointing upwards, the whole inscribed in an oval frame made of olive leaves surrounding the organisation acronym, and in base an horizontal stripe charged in the middle with a five-pointed green star and the writing, on two lines, "RPP-Unity", in French and Arabic languages." (http://www.rpp.dj/fr/statuts.htm)

There is a small image of the party emblem on the top of the party website front page, but no image of the flag seems to be available.
Ivan Sache, 29 November 2008

An internal coup occurred in FRUD on 22 February 1994 that resulted in a split into two factions: FRUD-Kifleh Ahmed and FRUD-Dini. The former was instrumental with the government. From the peace dated 26-12-1994 to the legalization of FRUD-Kifleh Ahmed on 6 March 1996, RPP was known as RPP-FRUD and both used the same emblem, because the constitution of Djibouti only allows for four political parties and four already existed. Later FRUD (Kifleh Ahmed) gave support in the December 1997 elections to the RPP and together they obtained the full 65 deputies; the coalition also was know as RPP-FRUD. FRUD (Kifleh Ahmed) was member of the government coalition with RPP nominally as a separate movement; while FRUD-Dini remained in the armed struggle and was renamed FRUD-Renaissance on 23 March 1996. The Government coalition was renamed (2003) Union pour la Majorité Presidentielle; their flag was yellow with the emblem in the center.
Jaume Ollé, 14 December 2008


Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle (UMP, Union for the Presidential Majority)

[Djibouti: Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle] image by Ivan Sache, 29 November 2008
Emblem after the party poster, available on the party website: http://www.ump.dj/actualites.html.

The "Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle" (UMP, Union for the Presidential Majority) was formed before the 2005 presidential election as the merging of the "Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès" (RPP, People's Rally for Progress, founded in 1979 and the sole legal party from 1981 to 1992), the "Parti Populaire Social Démocrate" (PPSD, People's Social Democratic Party, founded in 2002), the "Parti National Démocratique" (PND, National Democratic Party, founded in 1992) and the "Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie" (FRUD, Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy, a former Afar guerilla group founded in 1991). Ismail Omar Guelleh (b. 1946) was chosen in 1999 by the ruling RPP as the successor of his uncle, the historic party leader and first President of Djibouti, Hassan Gouled Aptidon (1916-2006, President in 1977). Elected President of the Republic the same year, Guelleh was reelected in 2005 without a challenger. In 2008, the UMP (including another component, the "Union des Partisans de la Réforme" (UPR, Union of Reform Partisans, founded in 2005 as an offshoot of the FRUD), won all of the 65 seats at the National Assembly following the boycott of the election by the opposition parties. In 2003, the UMP had already won all the seats in spite of the opposition having won 38% of the votes.

The UMP website shows several photographs of meetings held during the campaign for the general election. The flag of the UMP appears on several photographs as white with the party emblem, e.g., http://www.ump.dj/meetings.html, final meeting in Hassan Gouled Stadium, 6 February 2008

There is sometimes writing added below the emblem, for instance VOTEZ (black) UMP (green) on a flag used during the meeting held in the municipal stadium, 27 January 2008: http://www.ump.dj/_archives-meeting2701.html.

The emblem of the UMP, as shown on the front page of the party website, shows a blue and green map of the country, alluding to the national colours, with the party name acronym in red letters emerging from a yellow torch, the whole surrounded by two branches and surmounted by the name of the party in small blue capital letters. Below the emblem is a yellow scroll charged with the acronyms of the names of the constituting parties, RPP - FRUD - PND - PSD - UPR. A bigger image of the emblem (not placed on a flag) can be seen on photographs taken during the meeting at UNFD, 4 February 2008, confirming the acronym PSD instead of the expected PPSD (http://www.ump.dj/_archives-meeting0402.html) However, the acronym PSD seems to be used, too; see for instance "La Nation", 29 November 2004, http://www.ump.dj/_archives-meeting0402.html.

A smaller flag, seemingly made of a paper sheet attached to a wooden stick, is shown waved by supporters of the party on some of the photographs. The flag is white with the red writing VOTEZ / UMP, surmounted by the black writing, in much smaller letters, ELECTION LEGISLATIVE / 2008, flanked by the party emblem. See for a complete view of the flag photographs of the meeting held at Cheikh Moussa, 3 February 2008: http://www.ump.dj/_archives-meeting0302.html.

Finally, a completely different flag, probably belonging to one of the components of the UMP, can be seen on photographs taken during the meeting held at Chaikh Moussa, 3 February 2008: http://www.ump.dj/_archives-meeting0302.html. The flag is red with a white writing on top, and a white star surmounting a white crescent placed horizontally pointing upwards.

Ivan Sache, 29 November 2008