Comoros goes to polls in vote snubbed by opposition

MORONI, Comoros — The Indian Ocean nation of the Comoros voted on Sunday to elect lawmakers, with many opposition groups saying they would snub a vote they argued lacked transparency.

Comorian President Azali Assoumani's eldest son, Nour El Fath Azali, who is 39 and the country's secretary general, is running to represent a constituency just outside the capital Moroni.

Several voting booths opened late after material failed to materialise in time for an official 7:00 am (4:00 GMT) start, an AFP reporter saw.

Polls had been due to close at 4:00 pm, but many closed two hours later due to both the opening delays and bad weather.

One US observer, James Burns, said officials had to "improvise" one voting booth comprising two panels around a table.

Nearby, another booth consisted of a simple box placed on a chair -- making it difficult to preserve voter privacy as ballots were cast.

Before he was appointed to the post in July 2024, Nour had been a private advisor to his father, 65, a former military ruler who came to power in a 1999 coup.

Critics said Nour's new powers -- which include approving all decrees issued by ministers and governors -- elevate his role to that of de facto prime minister.

Azali was re-elected president in January 2024 after a disputed vote followed by two days of deadly protests. He has been accused of growing authoritarianism.

"Thank God, since the beginning of the campaign there has not been any trouble. It's raining but it's a blessing," Azali said after voting in his hometown of Mitsoudje, 15 kilometres  south of the capital Moroni.

"I thank the opposition candidates who stood in the elections. We need a constructive opposition," he added.

CRC set for win 

Around 340,000 registered voters will send 33 deputies to sit in Comoros's one-chamber parliament. A second round of voting will take place on February 16.

Several opposition candidates are running to avoid an outcome similar to the boycott of the 2020 legislative vote, which gave free rein to the ruling Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) party.

The CRC is nevertheless expected to dominate parliament again in this year's vote, not least as its candidates in some constituencies face no competition.

One man clad in a boubou and kofia, typical Comorian headgear, complained that "I dipped my finger in the inkwell but the ink's already gone", showing his index finger with no indelible ink stain.

Azali in January 2024 officially won 57 per cent of the vote, allowing him to remain in power until 2029.

But the strongman's opponents said the election was marred by fraud, and court challenges were dismissed.

One person was killed and several others injured in the violence that erupted in the aftermath of the election in the country of some 870,000 people.