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Tag: President Azali Assoumani

  • Internet shutdown in Comoros amid president Assoumani’s re-election protest

    Internet shutdown in Comoros amid president Assoumani’s re-election protest

    In response to protests against President Azali Assoumani’s re-election in Comoros, authorities have taken the measure of cutting off internet access. Reports indicate one person killed and six others injured as police confront opposition supporters in Moroni, the capital.

    Barricades on several roads and the arrest of an undisclosed number of protesters have contributed to the unrest. To quell the situation, a nighttime curfew has been enforced.

    The electoral commission declared on Tuesday that President Assoumani secured a fourth term with 63% of the vote in Sunday’s ballot.

    The announcement of President Assoumani’s re-election has sparked violent protests, with opposition parties denouncing the results as fraudulent and demanding their annulment. The capital witnessed widespread vandalism, looting, and arson, including the destruction of a minister’s residence and the burning of a national food depot.

    As a response, internet services have been severely disrupted, with Netblocks confirming inaccessible sites and blocked WhatsApp calls. Mobile messages are also restricted due to extremely low connection speeds, a tactic reportedly aimed at hindering communication among demonstrators.

    The first casualties of the protests were reported on Thursday, with six individuals admitted to the hospital, one in critical condition, following the unrest. A 21-year-old man lost his life, likely due to a gunshot during the demonstrations.

    Opposition figures emphasize that the protests represent a “spontaneous uprising against autocratic rule,” and while disavowing direct organization, they express solidarity with the protesting youths. The government, however, asserts that it will not yield to violence, identifying the alleged instigators.

    President Assoumani’s victory is anticipated to be officially confirmed by the Comoros’ Supreme Court over the weekend.

  • Comoros President Azali Assoumani secures a fourth term in a contested election

    Comoros President Azali Assoumani secures a fourth term in a contested election

    Comoros President Azali Assoumani has won a fourth term in an election contested by the opposition, who deemed it “fraudulent.”

    The electoral body Ceni announced his victory with 63% of the vote.

    Despite allegations of ballot stuffing and early closures made by opposition candidates, voter turnout was low, standing at only 16% due to an opposition boycott, as reported by the Reuters news agency.

    “We cannot talk about results because there was no election,” Mouigni Baraka Said Soilihi, one of Mr Assoumani’s opponents, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

    International election observers have asserted that the voting process was mostly free and fair despite reported irregularities by the opposition. The election commission disclosed that out of 189,000 voters who went to the polls, only 55,259 (16% of registered voters) participated in the presidential election.

    The low turnout was influenced by calls for a boycott from some opposition candidates, leading certain voters to engage solely in the concurrent gubernatorial elections. With a registered voter population exceeding 330,000 in a country estimated to have a population of 836,000 by the World Bank.

    Azali Assoumani, a former military officer, initially seized power through a coup in 1999 and secured his first election victory in 2002. After a hiatus in politics from 2006, he staged a comeback with a presidential win in 2016. A controversial 2018 referendum, which eliminated presidential term limits, allowed him to pursue a fourth term despite widespread protests.

    Assoumani’s leadership has faced controversy, with critics accusing him of imprisoning and exiling political opponents. Currently serving as the chairperson of the African Union.

  • President of Comoros wins fourth term in a contentious poll

    President of Comoros wins fourth term in a contentious poll

    Comoros President Azali Assoumani has won another term in office, but the opposition says the election was not fair.

    Ceni said he won with 63% of the votes.

    However, not many people came to vote because the opposition did not participate – only 16% of the population voted in the presidential election.

    Opposition candidates said that people put extra votes in the ballot boxes for Mr Assoumani and that the polls closed too soon, according to Reuters news agency.

    Mr Assoumani’s team said no to what the opposition is saying.

    Six people ran for president in an election on 14 January in a group of islands in the Indian Ocean.

    “We can’t say anything about the outcome because there wasn’t an election,” said Mouigni Baraka Said Soilihi, who is running against Mr. Assoumani, according to Reuters.

    Poll observers from other countries said that the voting process was mostly fair, even though the opposition reported some problems.

    The election commission says that 189,000 people could have voted, but only 55,259 actually did – that’s only 16% of the people who could have voted.

    The voter turnout was low because some opposition candidates asked people not to vote. As a result, some voters only voted in the governor elections and didn’t participate in the other elections.

    Over 330,000 people signed up to vote out of a total of 836,000 people in the area.

    Mr Assoumani used to be in the military and took control by force in 1999. He then won the first election in 2002.

    He stopped doing politics in 2006, but then he won the presidential election in 2016.

    He was allowed to run for president for a fourth time because the rules about how many times a president can run were changed in 2018. This caused many people in the country to protest.

    Mr Assoumani’s time as leader has been filled with arguments, as some people say he has put his rivals in jail or made them leave the country.

    He leads the African Union right now.