In Djibouti, some 187,000 voters are eligible to vote in presidential elections on Friday April 8. The current head of state, Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has been in power since 1999, is seeking a fourth consecutive term. Nicknamed "IOG", he looks set for a comfortable re-election win against a divided opposition. Our correspondents report. Djibouti, a small country in the Horn of Africa, is pampered by its international partners because of its strategic position at the entrance to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It's here that France, the former colonial power, has set up its largest military base abroad. The US and Japan also each have a base, while China is set to build one by the end of 2017.

Considered a stable partner, the Djiboutian authorities are nevertheless accused by human rights organisations of gagging the press and making life difficult for opposition parties. FRANCE 24's Duncan Woodside and Thaïs Brouck report from Djibouti.

A programme prepared by Phoebe Lanzer Wood and Elise Duffau.