The people of Comoros voted to select their new President on Sunday, March 24. With the vote counting still underway, the opposition leaders began to protest against what they said were fraudulent presidential elections.
The opposition candidates claimed the election authorities rigged Sunday’s poll to ensure former President Azali Assoumani’s wins the election. The protests began on Monday morning, with more than 1,000 people chanting “Azali Nalawe” (Azali outside), referring to incumbent President Assoumani who is widely expected to be re-elected.
According to a report from Reuters, the demonstrators marched towards Independence Square for a rally before heading to the Peoples’ Palace, the venue for the counting of results. As per the report, the Comoros Police had to use fire rubber bullets and use tear gas to disperse demonstrators led by opposition leaders.
Notably, nineteen candidates had registered for the Presidential election, but, the Supreme Court, which is composed exclusively of Azali’s allies, barred four of them from contesting. Dr. Zile Soilihi’s candidature was rejected as his name did not appear on the electoral lists, while Bourhane Abdallah and Thani Mohamed Soilihi were barred from contesting the election because they couldn’t prove that Comoros was their place of residency. The Democratic Front’s candidacy was also rejected as a ministerial decision issued in 2016 didn’t recognize the Democratic Front as a political party.
Azali’s campaign director Houmed Msaidie described opposition claims of election fraud as pathetic and accused them of creating a climate of panic to invalidate the electoral process.
“If there was fraud, they should go to the appropriate authorities,” he told AFP.
Msaidie added that he was confident of victory. The voting results expected to be announced by electoral body CENI later on Monday. If no candidate gains over 50 percent of the vote during the first round of the elections, the second round of voting will be held on April 21.
Don’t forget to check with the Chief Observer for latest updates on Comoros Presidential Election 2019.
