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2020 Comorian parliamentary election

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2020 Comorian parliamentary election
Comoros
← 2015 19 January 2020 (first round)
23 February 2020 (second round)
2025 →

24 of the 33 seats in the Assembly of the Union
17 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
CRC Youssoufa Mohamed Ali 60.94 20 +18
Orange Party Mohamed Daoudou [fr] 4.33 2 +2
Independents 30.83 2 −1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
President of the Assembly before President of the Assembly after
Abdou Ousseni
UPDC (expelled)[1]
Moustadroine Abdou

Parliamentary elections were held in the Comoros on 19 January 2020; in constituencies where no candidate received a majority, a second round was held alongside local elections on 23 February. The elections were boycotted by the main opposition parties, including the two largest parties in the outgoing Assembly, the Union for the Development of the Comoros and Juwa Party, in protest at constitutional reform and political repression,[2][3][4] The result was a landslide victory for President Azali Assoumani's Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros, which won 20 of the 24 elected seats.

Background

[edit]

Following decades when the politics of the Comoros was shaped by dictatorship, frequent coups, and civil war, the adoption of the December 2001 Constitution inaugurated the only sustained democratic order in the country since its independence from France in 1975. Azali Assoumani, the leader of the last successful military coup in 1999, remained as president after winning multi-party elections in March 2002. Constitutionally barred from serving consecutive terms, Assoumani stepped down from the presidency for a decade in 2006, before being reelected in 2016.

Beginning in late 2017, President Assoumani promoted a vision to make the Comoros into a developing nation by 2030.[5] On 12 April 2018 he "temporarily" suspended the elected Constitutional Court and transferred its duties to a new Constitutional Chamber within the Supreme Court whose members he had appointed.[6][7] Two weeks later, Assoumani announced that a series of consultations held with representatives of the nation during the preceding months had determined that to realize his vision of development a referendum should be held to revise the constitution.[8]

The constitutional referendum held in July 2018 proposed to permanently abolish the Constitutional Court as well as eliminate the ban on consecutive presidential terms, and amend the Fomboni Agreement reached at the end of the civil war whereby the first round of presidential elections was held on only one of the nation's three islands, rotating between them every five years;[9] instead establishing a two-term limit and alternation between the islands only every ten years, with both cycles to begin anew in 2019.[10]

In the months leading up to the referendum, weekly protests against "authoritarian rule" and clashes with the police occurred in the capital, Moroni. The opposition parties declared a boycott of the poll, and their leaders were detained by the army.[11][12] The vice president and other members of the administration publicly condemned the proposed reforms, and were sacked by presidential decree.[13] Nevertheless, official results claimed 92.34% support for the constitutional amendments.[7] In the wake of the referendum on Anjouan, the island due to elect the next president according to the now-overturned Fomboni Agreement, a revolt broke out which the military put down by force, and which the administration blamed on "terrorists, as well as drug addicts and alcoholics".[14]

Claiming that he was now eligible to serve for another ten years, Assoumani called a new presidential election in 2019, two years early. The Supreme Court barred the candidates of all major opposition parties from running.[15] Former president and Juwa Party head Ahmed Abdallah Sambi was placed under house arrest; other opposition leaders who went into hiding were tried in absentia and given life sentences at hard labor.[16][17] The parties prevented from running candidates formed a united organization, the National Council of Transition, and again declared a boycott and protest movement against the "electoral coup d'etat".[18] Assoumani claimed victory in the election in which all other candidates were independents unaffiliated with a political party.[19][20]

Both protests and the government's measures to suppress dissent escalated after the March 2019 vote.[21] Multiple presidential candidates who rejected the official results were injured or arrested by the police, including one who was shot.[22] Journalists were detained, newspaper issues confiscated, and printing presses raided, in response to which private media declared a boycott of government press conferences.[23]

During an extraordinary session of the Assembly held on the evening of 3 September 2019, the administration won a vote on an enabling act giving President Assoumani the authority to rule by decree, to take any measures deemed necessary to conduct new parliamentary elections.[24] This power was used to strip representatives of parliamentary immunity during a new round of arrests and prosecutions of opposition figures.[25][26] To prevent the passage of an amnesty bill intended to prevent imprisonment for political activity, the government closed the Assembly on 31 December, before its mandate was set to expire in March 2020.[27][28]

Electoral system

[edit]

The 33 members of the Assembly were elected by two methods: 24 members were directly elected in single-member constituencies using the two-round system, whilst nine members (three from each) were elected by the Island assemblies of Anjouan, Grande Comore and Mohéli.[29]

Campaign

[edit]

A total of 81 candidates were approved to contest the 24 Assembly seats, including 45 independents and 35 candidates from the three parties of L'Alliance de la Mouvance Présidentielle; 21 the CRC, seven from RADHI, led by the manager of Assoumani's 2019 re-election campaign, Houmed Msaidie, and seven from the Orange Party, led by Minister of the Interior, Mohamed Daoudou, who also organized the elections and oversaw the prosecution of opposition figures.[30][31][32] Only one candidate from an opposition party ran, representing the Democratic Rally of the Comoros, the party led by former Grand Comore Governor Mouigni Baraka.[33][34]

The period leading up to election day was noted for the absence of rallies and other forms of mass mobilization typical of previous campaigns.[35][36] One independent candidate was arrested, allegedly for engaging in opposition activity.[37] The campaigns of the parties in L'Alliance de la Mouvance Présidentielle emphasized a message of mobilizing people behind national development. Representatives of RADHI and the Orange Party insisted their parties were independent and contributed to a real competition of ideas, claiming a special responsibility to hold President Assoumani and the CRC accountable and check any future abuses of power.[38]

Results

[edit]
PartyFirst roundSecond roundTotal
seats
+/–
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros113,82660.941618,31854.09420+18
Orange Party8,0734.3216,38218.8512+2
RADHI4,9492.6503100.9200–1
Democratic Rally of the Comoros2,3701.2700–2
Independents57,55530.8228,85326.1402–1
Island Representatives90
Total186,773100.001933,863100.005330
Valid votes186,77393.0933,86390.08
Invalid/blank votes13,8546.913,7299.92
Total votes200,627100.0037,592100.00
Registered voters/turnout313,64963.9759,86062.80
Source: CENI, CENI

By constituency

[edit]
Nº1 Dewa
CandidatePartyVotes%
Chamina Ben MohamedConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros73253.01
Ibrahim Ahmed KassimIndependent41730.20
Ali Said ChanfiIndependent16311.80
Ben Omar Attoumane TaraIndependent695.00
Total1,381100.00
Valid votes1,38196.64
Invalid/blank votes483.36
Total votes1,429100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,62525.40
Nº2 Msoutrouni and Moimbassa
CandidatePartyVotes%
Abdallah Said SaroumaConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros2,22768.21
Said Bacar Ben AttoumaneIndependent80024.50
Ahmed Omar AvilazaRADHI2387.29
Total3,265100.00
Valid votes3,26595.80
Invalid/blank votes1434.20
Total votes3,408100.00
Registered voters/turnout6,81250.03
Nº3 Djando
CandidatePartyVotes%
Said Assane MadiConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros1,41353.30
Dhoihir DarouecheIndependent82731.20
Saindou Issoufa DjabirIndependent29911.28
Bachir Maenfou SaidIndependent1124.22
Total2,651100.00
Valid votes2,65195.95
Invalid/blank votes1124.05
Total votes2,763100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,14966.59
Nº4 Mledjele
CandidatePartyVotes%
Anfani Hamada BacarConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros2,82777.62
Achafion Abdillah ToibibouRADHI81522.38
Total3,642100.00
Valid votes3,64296.81
Invalid/blank votes1203.19
Total votes3,762100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,72165.76
Nº5 Sima
CandidatePartyVotes%
Moustadroine AbdouConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros20,009100.00
Total20,009100.00
Valid votes20,00997.64
Invalid/blank votes4832.36
Total votes20,492100.00
Registered voters/turnout22,47391.18
Nº6 Mutsamudu I
CandidatePartyVotes%
Hayda Nourdine SidiConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros4,51062.35
Fatima Said Ali Ben OmarIndependent1,55821.54
Naile JaffarIndependent1,14815.87
Mariama Houmadi DaoudIndependent170.24
Total7,233100.00
Valid votes7,23395.01
Invalid/blank votes3804.99
Total votes7,613100.00
Registered voters/turnout18,63240.86
Nº7 Mutsamudu II
CandidatePartyVotes%
Abou Achiraf Ali BacarConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros4,987100.00
Total4,987100.00
Valid votes4,98796.40
Invalid/blank votes1863.60
Total votes5,173100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,93765.18
Nº8 Ouani
CandidatePartyVotes%
Mouhouyouddine AffraitaneIndependent4,42352.82
Soiladine SalimConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros2,87634.34
Kamardine SoilihiOrange Party1,07512.84
Total8,374100.00
Valid votes8,37496.45
Invalid/blank votes3083.55
Total votes8,682100.00
Registered voters/turnout15,06857.62
Nº9 Cuvette
CandidatePartyVotes%
Ladaenti HoumadiConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros3,68864.01
Djanffar BacoIndependent1,33023.08
Mounia AhamadiRADHI74412.91
Total5,762100.00
Valid votes5,76297.22
Invalid/blank votes1652.78
Total votes5,927100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,93974.66
Nº10 Domoni I
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Nourdine Midiladji AbderemaneIndependent97629.711,04341.69
Salim Mohamed AbderemaneConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros95529.071,45958.31
Ibrahim Mohamed HanifRADHI66420.21
Madjid Mohamed ChakirIndependent43913.36
Hoistoi Thoueni SaidOrange Party2517.64
Total3,285100.002,502100.00
Valid votes3,28595.742,50268.79
Invalid/blank votes1464.261,13531.21
Total votes3,431100.003,637100.00
Registered voters/turnout10,32233.2410,34135.17
Nº11 Domoni II
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Adnani MouhamadiConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros4,88449.659,03667.79
Dhoimir SamadaneIndependent2,27023.084,29332.21
Moursoid MassondiIndependent1,77718.07
Abdel Kader CharcaneIndependent9059.20
Total9,836100.0013,329100.00
Valid votes9,83697.0713,32995.11
Invalid/blank votes2972.936854.89
Total votes10,133100.0014,014100.00
Registered voters/turnout15,79064.1715,16292.43
Nº12 Nioumakele I
CandidatePartyVotes%
Mohamed Ahmed SaidConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros11,36588.07
Abibou Ben MahamoudOrange Party1,0648.24
Halidi Abderemane IbrahimIndependent4763.69
Total12,905100.00
Valid votes12,90596.83
Invalid/blank votes4233.17
Total votes13,328100.00
Registered voters/turnout14,54091.66
Nº13 Nioumakele II
CandidatePartyVotes%
Mohamed MourchidiConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros5,95660.36
Nadhuf Ahmed OiliIndependent2,09521.23
Ahamadi Houmadi SoufouIndependent1,81718.41
Total9,868100.00
Valid votes9,86898.11
Invalid/blank votes1901.89
Total votes10,058100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,06490.91
Nº14 Moroni North
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Abdou Said MdahomaConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros58338.332,16787.48
Mohamed AhmedRADHI41627.3531012.52
Kassim IbrahimOrange Party20513.48
Mohamed Farouk AttoumaniIndependent1379.01
Mze Abdou Soule ElbakIndependent1268.28
Ahamadi Houmadi FaridaIndependent543.55
Total1,521100.002,477100.00
Valid votes1,52195.242,47789.45
Invalid/blank votes764.7629210.55
Total votes1,597100.002,769100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,65018.468,78731.51
Nº15 Moroni South
CandidatePartyVotes%
Djoumoi Idjabou MroiviliOrange Party2,38869.26
Tourqui Said Ahmed Chams-EddineIndependent54315.75
Jose Chakhrina Nourdine AbodoIndependent38111.05
Karimou AbdoulwahabiIndependent1363.94
Total3,448100.00
Valid votes3,44895.38
Invalid/blank votes1674.62
Total votes3,615100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,42842.89
Nº16 Bambao
CandidatePartyVotes%
Maoulida Mmadi IssihakaConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros10,35566.01
Youssouf Ismael MmadiIndependent2,43515.52
Moussa IbrahimIndependent1,73211.04
Said Abdillah Said AhmedIndependent1,1647.42
Total15,686100.00
Valid votes15,68693.73
Invalid/blank votes1,0506.27
Total votes16,736100.00
Registered voters/turnout21,68977.16
Nº17 Oichili-Dimani
CandidatePartyVotes%
Zoubeiri Mohamed AhamedConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros6,22472.42
El-Anrif MohamedDemocratic Rally of the Comoros2,37027.58
Total8,594100.00
Valid votes8,59461.44
Invalid/blank votes5,39338.56
Total votes13,987100.00
Registered voters/turnout15,34091.18
Nº18 Itsandra North
CandidatePartyVotes%
Abdoul Aziz MohamedConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros4,44160.57
Saadi SalimIndependent1,94026.46
Ahamada SaidIndependent95112.97
Total7,332100.00
Valid votes7,33295.43
Invalid/blank votes3514.57
Total votes7,683100.00
Registered voters/turnout13,56356.65
Nº19 Itsandra South
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Soilihi AbdouIndependent1,46029.053,51749.68
Hassani MohamedOrange Party1,40427.943,56350.32
Abdoul El Wahab MoussaRADHI1,39627.78
Alloui Said AbasseIndependent76515.22
Total5,025100.007,080100.00
Valid votes5,02594.217,08089.22
Invalid/blank votes3095.7985510.78
Total votes5,334100.007,935100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,66145.7411,66168.05
Nº20 Mitsamiouli-Mboude
CandidatePartyVotes%
Mohamed Ahamada BacoIndependent6,69651.52
Chamsoudine SouleIndependent2,65020.39
Abdou Mbalia ZainoudineIndependent2,52019.39
Mohamed Maamoune MohamoudIndependent1,1308.69
Total12,996100.00
Valid votes12,99691.81
Invalid/blank votes1,1608.19
Total votes14,156100.00
Registered voters/turnout28,51649.64
Nº21 Hambou
CandidatePartyVotes%
Dawiat MohamedConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros6,37180.45
Said AthoumaniIndependent1,54819.55
Total7,919100.00
Valid votes7,91993.40
Invalid/blank votes5606.60
Total votes8,479100.00
Registered voters/turnout12,62167.18
Nº22 Hamahamet-Mboinkou
CandidatePartyVotes%
Ali Mohamed AbdouConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros5,33863.88
Mohamed AssoumaniIndependent1,82221.80
Mohamed Said HassaneIndependent1,19614.31
Total8,356100.00
Valid votes8,35693.61
Invalid/blank votes5706.39
Total votes8,926100.00
Registered voters/turnout17,18251.95
Nº23 Ngouengwe
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Ali SaidConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros4,65845.865,65666.74
Ahmed YoussoufOrange Party1,68616.602,81933.26
Antoisse Mohamed IbrahimIndependent1,38613.65
Ahmed Said AbdallahIndependent1,25812.39
Mariama MohamedRADHI6766.66
Soilihi MohamedIndependent4924.84
Total10,156100.008,475100.00
Valid votes10,15695.258,47591.75
Invalid/blank votes5074.757628.25
Total votes10,663100.009,237100.00
Registered voters/turnout13,56578.6113,90966.41
Nº24 Itsahidi
CandidatePartyVotes%
Abdou-Rahim MistoihiConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros9,42775.16
Habdallah Ali MohamedIndependent2,04516.31
Mnemoi Ahmed DoudouIndependent1,0708.53
Total12,542100.00
Valid votes12,54294.64
Invalid/blank votes7105.36
Total votes13,252100.00
Registered voters/turnout16,36280.99

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Politics / Five deputies suspended yesterday by the UPDC political bureau". al-watwan.net. (in French)
  2. ^ "Opposition MP arrested on the eve of the legislative elections". VOA. 15 January 2020. (in French)
  3. ^ "Comoros leader urges opposition to drop vote boycott". Yahoo News. 14 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Comorians at the polls for the first round of the legislative elections". RFI. 19 January 2020. (in French)
  5. ^ "STRATEGIE DE CROISSANCE ACCELEREE ET DE DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE" (PDF). Union des Comoros, Secretariat General de la Presidence. 31 December 2017. (in French)
  6. ^ "Comoros president suspends constitutional court". New Vision. 19 April 2018. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Power grab destabilises Comoros". New African. 24 October 2018.
  8. ^ "The conclusions of the meetings submitted to the referendum in July". Presidency of the Republic of the Comoros. 30 April 2018. (in French)
  9. ^ "IRIN Briefing on separatist crisis". The New Humanitarian. 7 November 2001.
  10. ^ "Comoros, forced march towards the presidential election". La Croix. 19 February 2019. (in French)
  11. ^ "Comoros: 3 opposition leaders arrested during anti-referendum protest". Africanews. 23 June 2018.
  12. ^ "In the Comoros, the opposition boycots the referendum intended to strengthen the powers of the president". L'Express. 30 July 2018. (in French)
  13. ^ "Discordant voices sacked in Comoros". RFI. 14 July 2018. (in French)
  14. ^ "Comoros: Civilians flee strife-torn city on Anjouan island". Al Jazeera. 18 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Azali Assoumani's main opponents blocked from Comoros Presidential Elections". Afrika News.
  16. ^ "Senior Comoros opposition figures handed life sentences". AFP. 16 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Comoros: new prison sentences for members of the opposition". France TV. 18 December 2018. (in French)
  18. ^ "In the Comoros: The Muzzled Voices of the Opposition". Lundi.am. 18 July 2019. (in French)
  19. ^ "Comoros: closing of the presidential candidacy deposit". RFI. 24 January 2019. (in French)
  20. ^ "Former Army Chief in Coup-Prone Comoros Rejects Vote Results". Bloomberg. 28 March 2019.
  21. ^ "At Least Three Dead in Gunfight in Comoros After Opposition Moves to Unseat President". U.S. News. 28 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Comoros elections: Several candidates were injured". Mayotte 1. 28 March 2019. (in French)
  23. ^ "Comoros authorities begin crackdown on media". Blitz-CPJ News. 11 April 2019.
  24. ^ "Comoros: the assembly entrusts to the president the powers to organize the legislative". Le Figaro. 4 September 2019. (in French)
  25. ^ "Three Comorians seeking asylum in Madagascar: The Dircab of the Interior Ministry of the Comoros demands an arrest warrant". Madagasikara. 13 September 2019. (in French)
  26. ^ "Comoros: the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of three deputies questions". 54États. (in French)
  27. ^ "Comoros: opposition MPs denounce executive interference". RFI. 31 December 2019. (in French)
  28. ^ "Comoros: parliamentary session closed in anger". RFI. 1 January 2020. (in French)
  29. ^ Electoral system IPU
  30. ^ "Comoros president survives assassination attempt". The East African. 7 March 2019.
  31. ^ "Comorians at the polls to elect their deputies". Africanews. 19 January 2019. (in French)
  32. ^ "Comoros Clashes Make Political Casualty as Critic Arrested". Bloomberg. 22 October 2018.
  33. ^ "Speech by Mouigni Baraka, on the occasion of New Year 2020". Comores-infos. 31 December 2019. (in French)
  34. ^ "Legislative of 2020 / A battle between candidates allies of the Presidential Movement". Al-Watwan. 10 December 2019. (in French)
  35. ^ "Comoros legislative elections: a campaign without the slightest enthusiasm". RFI. 5 January 2020. (in French)
  36. ^ "Gloomy campaign for legislative boycotted by the opposition". VOA. 9 January 2019. (in French)
  37. ^ "MP Ben Omar arrested". Comores-infos. 14 January 2020. (in French)
  38. ^ "Youssoufa Mohamed Ali: "The position of the CRC is that of the Presidential Movement Alliance"". Al-Watwan. 1 November 2019. (in French)