Elections in Djibouti are scheduled to be held in 2016. Current President, Ismail Omar Guelleh is up for re-election. Guelleh has been in office since May 8, 1999.Under his watch, Djibouti has seen healthy economic growth, driven by Guelleh's outwards-looking approach, which has helped the pin-sized East African country punch well above its weight internationally. Guelleh was first elected as President in 1999 as the handpicked successor to his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had ruled Djibouti since independence in 1977. Djibouti has a population of approximately one million with only 176,878 registered to vote. Djibouti has 11 political parties and has re- elections every 6 years since the 1990s when the country's civil war ended.