[ad_1]
Comoros voters go to the polls on Monday for a politically explosive referendum darkened by repression and an badbadination attempt a few days before the vote.
Overwhelmed by a long history of turbulence, the archipelago of the Indian Ocean is asked to vote on the changes to the constitution proposed by President Azali Assoumani.
But the plan ran into fierce protests against Assoumani's opponents, who blame him for keeping power beyond 2021, when his current mandate would not be renewable. otherwise fine.
Opposition deputies on Saturday called for an "unconditional and immediate cessation of the arbitrary and illegal process" of the referendum.
Ahmed el-Barwane, secretary general of the opposition party Juwa, called for a boycott and accused the president of wanting to "craft a constitution tailored to him to do what he wants" .
But Interior Minister Mohamed Daoudou rejected the opposition's concerns: "We will not allow the disorder to take root in the country."
Daoudou warned that "Those people (who urged a halt of the process) will have to explain – their punishment will be adapted to their actions."
According to the current constitution adopted in 2001, power turns every five years between the three main islands of the country. as a way of balancing power in the country subject to coup d'etat.
If the government wins the referendum, this arrangement would be abolished and replaced by a president who would be elected for a five-year term, renewable
Assoumani would also obtain the power to abolish the three vice-presidencies of the country, another control function and balance of the current constitution
. In addition, a constitutional clause on secularism would be deleted and replaced. by a text saying "Islam is the religion of the state" and "the state draws on this religion the principles and rules of Sunni observance".
Ninety-nine percent of the Comorian population is Sunni Muslim
. "When the law is trampled, we can not organize a credible vote … we can not take part in an election or a referendum that has been marked by illegality," he added. -Barwane had warned earlier.
In June, one of the country's three vice presidents, Ahmed Said Jaffar, urged Comorians to "reject dangerous abuses" of power. Later, he was stripped of all but one of his ministerial portfolios.
If Assoumani wins the referendum, he should hold early elections next year. try to extend his term. If he loses, he will resign, according to his spokesman, Mohamed Ismailla
Set of three islands between Mozambique and Madagascar and one of the poorest countries in the world, the Comoros have suffered coups and political unrest, including mercenary intervention, since independence from France in 1975.
Assoumani, a 59-year-old former colonel, was president between 1999 and 2002, coming to power after ousting the acting president Tadjidine Ben Said Mbadonde during a military coup.
He won the country's first multi-party elections in 2002, retiring in 2006 to hand over power democratically to Ahmed Abdallah Sambi.
In May 2016, he returned to the presidency after an election marked by violence and allegations of election irregularities.
In April of this year, Assoumani suspended the Constitutional Court – his spokesman said that the institution had become "useless, superfluous and incompetent "because the panel of eight had only three judges and could not constitute a quorum.
The following month, former Sambi president close to Shiite Muslim Iran – was placed under house arrest shortly after his six-month return from overseas absence and Aswani proscribed the demonstrations.
Last Sunday, one of the vice-presidents, Moustoidrane Abdou, who holds the production and energy portfolios
He was traveling to his native village of Sima, west of the island. Island of Anjouan, when motorcycle badailants raked his car with automatic shots near the island. The city of Mutsamudu
The three main islands of the Comoros – Great Comore, the largest, and of which Azali is from, Anjouan and Moheli – have a population of about 800 000 inhabitants. A fourth island of the group, Mayotte, remains a part of France.
* Sign up for News News News24 in your country.
inbox: SUBSCRIBE
TO THE BULLETIN OF HELLO AFRICA
FOLLOW News24 Africa on Twitter and Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link
