Voting closes in Comoros and President Azali expected to win new term

The polls closed Sunday on the tiny archipelago of Comoros and President Azali Assoumani should win a new term in an election that, according to rivals, was diverted.

The main opposition, however, baderted after the polls closed at 18:00 (15:00 GMT) that irregularities reported by the electoral commission in several polling stations constituted a "coup d'etat" and called for "resistance". public.

"We, the candidates, declare that the current government is illegitimate … call on the population to resist and mobilize against it," the president of the opposition Union group told the press. former Vice President Soihili Mohamed, to the island of Moroni.

Accompanied by about thirty supporters, seven candidates demonstrated in front of the National Assembly, which houses the national counting center, to "prevent the ballot boxes from reaching Moroni," Mahamoudou said. Ahamada, candidate of the opposition party Juwa.

The gendarmes quickly dispersed them.

Some 300,000 voters were expected for the vote.

Azali confirmed but downplayed sporadic incidents after voting in a school in Mitsoudje, on the main island of Grande Comore.

"It was said that there had been problems – this is not a surprise," he said.

"We knew during the campaign that some people were not there to win but to prevent the vote from taking place.

"The situation is under control," he said, adding that he was "confident" for the win.

An Electoral Commission official told AFP that a dozen or so stands had been vandalized in Anjouan. Witnesses testified that several stuffed urns were found and that some opposition badessors were prevented from performing their duties.

"Since my delegates have been prevented from entering polling stations (…), I will never recognize the results," said Ahamada de Juwa after voting for Grande Comore.

"We need a real change"

"We need real change in this country, no empty words, we need peace, security and progress," said Mohamed Chaine, 38, a voter in Moroni.

"I hope my choice will be respected," said Allaoui Elarif, 70. "I do not expect trouble or protests here, it is then, at the electoral commission, where I'm afraid they're cheating."

Huge country posters featuring the face of Azali, 60, cover the whitewashed walls of the capital Moroni and line the roads of the three islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli.

The Supreme Court has banned some of Azali's main rivals, including former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, accused of corruption, from running for office.

During a pre-election visit to Anjouan, Azali overflowed with self-confidence and burst out laughing when told about defeat.

"It's a question I will not answer, when you decide to do something you do it to win!" he said.

The predominantly Muslim archipelago of the Indian Ocean, which has 800,000 inhabitants, is one of the poorest and most state-prone states in the world.

He has undergone more than 20 attempts to seize power since his accession to the independence of France in 1975. His first leader, Ahmed Abdallah, lasted barely a month before being ousted.

"Great masquerade"

Azali organizes the poll after the vote by referendum of the Comoros, boycotted by the opposition, in favor of extending the presidential term of office from five years to two, alternating the three islands.

The change upset the fragile balance of power established in 2001, aimed at ending the separatist crises in Anjouan and Moheli and ending the never-ending cycle of coups d'état.

The opposition fears that Azali, a native of Great Comore and elected in 2016, retains power for another 10 years until 2029.

The referendum last July resulted in violent demonstrations in Anjouan that would have taken the presidency in 2021.

Soilihi Mohamed, one of those who were prevented from running, described the election as "grand charade".

"The plot was written in advance. On the evening of March 24, there will be a victory announcement (for Azali) in the first round," predicted Soilihi. "It will be forced."

"Everyone is against him," said Ahamada.

– "plot of rocks"

Azali, a former army chief of staff, took power by a coup in April 1999.

He overthrew an interim president whom he considered weak in the management of secessionist forces, and was elected in 2002.

Earlier this month, according to his aides, Azali survived an badbadination attempt in Anjouan in which conspirators allegedly used explosives to cause a landslide that targeted his motorcade.

His critics reject this story as false.

Juwa's campaign director, Ibrahim Mohamed Soule, said the Azali team "creates false attacks or fake incidents to deter people from participating freely in elections."