Despite his re-election as head of the Comoros with 57.2% of the vote, Azali Assoumani is lacking legitimacy. A month after the January 14 examination intended to designate the president of the archipelago and the governors of the three islands, neither the European Union (EU) nor the United States have recognized the published results. Nor did they congratulate the former putschist colonel, who is also the current president of the African Union (AU) until the organization’s summit, which is to be held on February 17 and 18.
After the announcement of the provisional results and a participation rate of 16.3% (revised and increased to 56% on January 24), riots paralyzed the archipelago for two days and led to the death of a demonstrator. Appeals filed by opposition candidates with the Supreme Court, whose members were appointed by the government, were unsuccessful. But The world was able to consult documents and collect testimonies which prove that fraud was indeed organized by those in power during the audit, which was marred by numerous irregularities.
The first bone of contention concerns the appointment of the 4,340 members of the polling stations, responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the vote. To participate, they had to certify a certain level of education, follow rapid training and take an oath before officiating. Or, in certain cases, the lists established in advance by the municipal electoral commissions, as provided for by law, were arbitrarily altered, without justification and at the last moment, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).
This is the case in Fomboni, the capital of the island of Mohéli. The world was able to establish that only 42 of the 105 members of the polling stations initially registered on the lists were present on the day of the vote. “I did the training and I was supposed to collect my badge, but the CENI never called me. A woman (that I do not know) replaced me and officiated in my place in my polling station”says a resident of Fomboni who does not wish to be identified for fear of reprisals.
Contacted by The worldthe CENI does not say how the 63 new members of the polling stations of this city present on election day were appointed, but speaks “usual fake last minute links” to justify inconsistencies in the lists. The opposition accuses these new members of coming exclusively from the presidential party, the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros.
Flagrant offense of ballot stuffing
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