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In 1981, he turned the country into a one party state by declaring his party, the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP) (Popular Rally for Progress), the only legal one. After the breakout of a civil war in 1991 he allowed for partially free elections in 1992; just four parties were allowed to participate, not including the party that had started the war, the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD). The RPP won 72% of the vote, and Aptidon was reelected for a fourth term in 1993.
He decided to step down in 1999, at the age of 83, after being elected to a fifth term in 1997. He successor was his nephew, Ismail Omar Guelleh.
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