MORONI, Comoros
Security forces in the Comoros clashed Wednesday with protesters angered by the re-election of President Azali Assoumani, as opposition leaders denounced this week’s vote as fraudulent.
Some demonstrators ransacked a
former minister's house and set it on fire, as others tried to block roads in
the capital. Police responded with tear gas and arrests, AFP reported.
Election officials said on
Tuesday that Assoumani had won 63 percent of the vote in Sunday's ballot, but
the five opposition challengers cried foul, alleging ballot-stuffing and
inconsistent results.
"Incontestably, these
ballots of Sunday January 14, 2024, are invalid. We denounce them and demand
their pure and simple annulment," the candidates said, in a joint
statement.
Debris, furniture and burning
tires were scattered in several streets of the capital Moroni and the Indian
Ocean archipelago's largest street market lay deserted in the morning after the
disputed poll results were announced.
Tear gas shots echoed through
the streets well into the afternoon and black plumes of smoke billowed over the
city as police and the army tried to clear roads blockaded by the aggrieved
protesters.
Opposition supporters destroy
a billboard image of incumbent Comoros President and president of Convention
for the Renewal of Comoros (CRC), Azali Assoumani, during a demonstration in
Moroni on January 17, 2024 following the announcement of the presidential
elections.
Government spokesman Houmed
Msaidie, speaking to AFP, accused the opposition of organizing the protests.
"There have been arrests,
but I can't give you the figure for the moment. It's totally normal when there
are people out there who want to disturb public order," Msaidie said.
AFP did not say whether the
opposition responded to the accusation from the government of being behind the
unrest.
There have been no reports of
deadly violence, but the Comoros — a three-island chain with a population of
about 870,000 — is politically volatile and has seen 20 coups or attempted
coups since independence in 1975.
Official results released
Tuesday showed Assoumani — a former coup leader turned civilian president — won
re-election in the first round.
A former army chief-of-staff,
Colonel Assoumani initially came to power in a coup in 1999, before handing
over to civilian rule in 2006.
He returned to politics and
won re-election in 2016 in a vote marred by violence and allegations of
irregularities.
He has since been accused of
creeping authoritarianism. His arch-rival ex-president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi was
given a life sentence for high treason for allegedly selling passports.
During this year's campaign,
Assoumani hailed his government's construction of roads and hospitals.
But in a country where 45
percent of the population live below the poverty line, plagued by electricity
cuts and water shortages, he has faced popular criticism.
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