On Saturday, an opposition candidate in Comoros initiated legal proceedings to annul the recent vote, marked by the controversial re-election of President Azali Assoumani, triggering violent protests.
Despite the opposition’s call for nationwide roadblocks after Friday prayers to condemn what they termed President Assoumani’s “electoral masquerade,” the plea went unanswered.
President Assoumani’s victory, declared by the electoral commission with over 60 percent of the votes in the first-round vote on Sunday, is anticipated to be affirmed by the supreme court over the weekend.
Speaking outside the supreme court, Daoudou Abdallah Mohamed, a former interior minister and candidate of the Orange opposition party, alleged that the election commission had “published fabricated results” and presented evidence of ballot box stuffing. Mohamed called for the annulment of the results and the organization of new elections.
Following the vote, Moroni experienced two days of intense clashes between stone-throwing youths and armed soldiers, leading to the paralysis of the Comoros capital.
“One cannot transform the street into a court,” spokesman Houmed Msaidie said. “If the court says we haven’t won, then we haven’t.”
Medical sources reported at least one fatality during the clashes.
Official records indicated that while 189,497 Comorans voted for governors on each of the three islands, only 55,258 participated in the presidential vote.
President Assoumani, a 65-year-old former military ruler turned civilian president, faces accusations of imprisoning opponents to solidify his hold on power. Approximately 45 percent of the Comoros’ population, totaling 870,000, lives below the poverty line.