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Comoros votes in election boycotted by opposition
MORONI, Comoros, Jan 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Comorans voted Sunday in the
first round of a parliamentary election with victory for President Azali
Assoumani’s supporters all but certain after opposition parties boycotted the
contest.
Most voting stations in the Indian Ocean archipelago’s capital Moroni
opened late because of bad weather, an AFP reporter said.
Opposition parties said they would not contest the 24 seats in the Comoros
national assembly after failing to obtain guarantees of a “transparent, free
and democratic” election.
Azali secured a second consecutive term in March 2019, but critics alleged
vote rigging and witnesses said ballot boxes were stuffed, the latest scandal
in a country blighted by instability and coups.
Azali, who has denied the allegations, had urged the opposition to drop the
boycott threat in the run-up to the vote, saying in November that “my most
ardent wish is that they come to participate in these elections because we
have a lot to do”.
Among the opposition’s demands in the former French colony, one of the
world’s poorest countries, has been that its diaspora of roughly 300,000
should be allowed to take part, a demand Azali’s camp said would be
impossible to meet.
While the absence of official opposition candidates made for a low-key
election campaign, tensions appeared within the ruling coalition this week.
Azali’s ruling party, the CRC, has accused the Orange party of Interior
Minister Mohamed Daoudou of insufficient support for their coalition.
First-round results are expected late Sunday, with a second round scheduled
for February 23.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1848 hrs