Tension in Comoros, Bouteflika finally quits

Comoros' President Azali Assoumani talks to media after casting his ballot during a constitutional referendum on July 30, 2018 at Mitsoudje polling station. He was re-elected as president. PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA | AFP

What you need to know:

  • In Comoros, tensions began to mount soon after the electoral agency announced the presidential election results on March 26.
  • Having rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, Bouteflika’s bid to cling onto power and prolong his 20-year rule was viewed as ridiculous.

With the first quarter of the year gone, the scorecard for poll practices in Africa is anything but impressive.

The irregularities that marked the Comoros presidential election on March 24 were particularly alarming. That the poll was vastly chaotic and lacking in credibility is attested to by the fact that the island nation is unstable two weeks later.

Tensions began to mount soon after the electoral agency announced the results on March 26.

According to the commission, incumbent President Azali Assoumani garnered 60.8 per cent of the vote.

Opposition candidate Ahamada Mahamoudou — one of 12 — was a distant runner-up, having received 14.6 percent of the vote.

BOUTEFLIKA

Observers from the African Union and Comesa were among those who doubted the credibility of the poll.

Witnesses quoted in the media said voting stations were ransacked, with ballot boxes stuffed by police, even as observers were prevented from overseeing the vote.

That damning verdict explains the chaos that soon ensued, even as momentous developments unfolded elsewhere on the continent.

Among them was the announcement that Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika would resign before the end of his mandate on April 28.

The announcement by the 82-year-old’s office came soon after loyalists deserted him.

INSTABILITY

Suddenly, the ailing Bouteflika was alone in the face of protests against his continued presence in the country’s political arena.

Having rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, Bouteflika’s bid to cling onto power and prolong his 20-year rule was viewed as ridiculous.

In the Comoros, the latest developments were the culmination of a prolonged period of instability during the rule of Azali.

A retired colonel who previously led a coup, he ruled the country between 1999 and 2006 and was re-elected in 2016.

According to his critics, as matters stand, Azali could rule until 2029.

Tellingly, the opposition has persistently said that voting was fraudulent and marred by violence.

The government denied the allegations, but the opposition groups were quick to reject the results, and were soon planning a civil disobedience campaign.

Having been accused of exhibiting despotic behaviour and surviving assassination attempts in the past, President Assoumani is a man in serious trouble.

ciugumwagiru@yahoo.co.uk