Image copyright AFP Image caption Voters on the three Indian Ocean islands are choosing their president

Presidential elections are taking place in the Comoros Islands for the first time since a referendum to increase term limits.

Previously the presidency was rotated around the three Indian Ocean Islands every five years - a system which was put in place to stop constant coups.

Thanks to the referendum outcome, President Azali Assoumani is able to run for re-election.

He is running against 12 opponents but is widely expected to win.

The Supreme Court barred some of Mr Azali's rivals including the former President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, who is accused of corruption.

The opposition have reported irregularities in Sunday's vote.

A dozen polling stations have been ransacked on the Anjouan island, an official from the electoral commission told AFP news agency.

Witnesses told AFP that the polling stations were attacked after people found filled ballot boxes.

The Union of the Comoros Capital: Moroni Population 813,000

Area 1,862 sq km (719 sq miles)

Major languages Arabic, French, Comoran (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)

Major religion Islam

Life expectancy 62 years (men), 65 years (women)

Currency Comoran franc Getty Images

Last year there were violent protests when the referendum put an end to the system of rotating power every five years among the archipelago's three main islands.

The arrangement had been put in place to promote stability in a country that has had more than 20 coup attempts since its independence in 1975.

Now presidents can run for two terms.

If there is no clear winner, a run-off election will be held on 21 April.</s>Polls opened on Sunday in Comoros’ presidential election. Incumbent president Azali Assoumani is widely expected to win another term.

Tensions are already high in the mainly-Muslim Indian Ocean archipelago. They were exacerbated last year by a referendum that gave Assoumani sweeping powers. The opposition boycotted the vote.</s>Presidential elections are taking place in the Comoros Islands for the first time since a referendum to increase term limits.

Previously the presidency was rotated around the three Indian Ocean Islands every five years - a system which was put in place to stop constant coups.

Thanks to the referendum outcome, President Azali Assoumani is able to run for re-election.

He is running against 12 opponents but is widely expected to win.

The Supreme Court barred some of Mr Azali's rivals including the former President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, who is accused of corruption.

The opposition have reported irregularities in Sunday's vote.

A dozen polling stations have been ransacked on the Anjouan island, an official from the electoral commission told AFP news agency.

Witnesses told AFP that the polling stations were attacked after people found filled ballot boxes.

Last year there were violent protests when the referendum put an end to the system of rotating power every five years among the archipelago's three main islands.

The arrangement had been put in place to promote stability in a country that has had more than 20 coup attempts since its independence in 1975.

Now presidents can run for two terms.

If there is no clear winner, a run-off election will be held on 21 April.</s>People in Comoros are casting their ballots in the archipelago's presidential elections, with incument Azali Assoumani widely expected to win a new term in a vote that rivals say has been hijacked.

The main opposition alleged that irregularities at several polling stations reported on Sunday by the electoral commission amounted to a "coup d'etat" and called for public "resistance".

"We candidates declare the current government illegitimate ... (we) call on the people to resist and mobilise against it," Soihili Mohamed, the head of the Union of the Opposition group and a former deputy president, told journalists on Moroni island.

Azali confirmed but played down sporadic incidents after voting at a school in Mitsoudje on the main island Grande Comore.

"I've been told there have been some problems; it's not a surprise," he said.

"We were aware during the campaign there are some people who were not out there to win but to prevent the vote taking place.

"The situation is under control", he added, expressing "confidence" over a win.

An electoral commission official told AFP news agency that a dozen booths had been vandalised on the island of Anjouan, while witnesses said several stuffed ballot boxes had been found and some opposition poll assessors had been prevented from going about their duties.

"Given that my delegates have been prevented from entering polling stations ... I shall never recognise the results," Mahamoudou Ahamada, candidate of opposition party Juwa, said after voting on Grande Comore.

The Supreme Court had barred some of Azali's major rivals, including former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, accused of corruption, from running.

Some 300,000 voters were expected to turn out, with polling stations opening at 8:00am (05:00 GMT).

The poll comes after Comorans voted in a referendum that wsa boycotted by the opposition to support the extension of presidential mandates from one five-year term to two, rotating among the three islands.

The opposition fears that Azali, a native of Grande Comore and last elected in 2016, could hold power for 10 more years until 2029.

The referendum last July led to violent protests on Anjouan, which would have taken over the presidency in 2021.

"I hope my choice will be respected," told Allaoui Elarif, 70, to AFP.

"I don't expect any trouble, demonstrations here. It is afterwards, at the election commission where I am afraid they will cheat."</s>Polls closed Sunday on the tiny archipelago of Comoros with President Azali Assoumani widely expected to win a new term in an election that rivals say has been hijacked.

The main opposition, however, alleged after the polls closed at 6 pm (1500 GMT) that irregularities at several polling stations reported by the electoral commission amounted to a "coup d'etat" and called for public "resistance".

"We candidates declare the current government illegitimate... (we) call on the people to resist and mobilise against it," the head of the Union of the Opposition group, former deputy president Soihili Mohamed told journalists on Moroni island.

Accompanied by around 30 supporters, seven candidates marched on the National Assembly, which houses the national counting centre, to "prevent ballot boxes from reaching (the capital) Moroni", Mahamoudou Ahamada, a candidate for the opposition party Juwa said.

Some 300,000 voters had been expected to turn out for the vote.

Azali confirmed but played down sporadic incidents after voting at a school in Mitsoudje on the main island Grande Comore.

"I've been told there have been some problems -- it's not a surprise," he said.

"We were aware during the campaign there are some people who were not out there to win but to prevent the vote taking place.

"The situation is under control", he said, adding he was "confident" of winning.

An electoral commission official told AFP a dozen booths had been vandalised on Anjouan while witnesses said several stuffed ballot boxes had been found and some opposition poll assessors had been prevented from going about their duties.

"Given that my delegates have been prevented from entering polling stations.... I shall never recognise the results," Juwa's Ahamada said after voting on Grande Comore.

"We need real change in this country, not empty words. We need peace, security and progress," said Mohamed Chaine, 38, a voter in Moroni said.

"I hope my choice will be respected," said Allaoui Elarif, 70. "I don't expect any trouble, demonstrations here. It is afterwards, at the election commission where I am afraid they will cheat."

Huge campaign posters emblazoned with the face of Azali, 60, cover the whitewashed walls in the capital Moroni and line roads on the three islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli.

The Supreme Court has barred some of Azali's major rivals, including former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, accused of corruption, from running.

In a pre-election visit to Anjouan, Azali oozed confidence and burst out laughing when asked about defeat.

"That's a question I won't answer. When you set out to do something, you do it to win!" he said.

The mainly Muslim Indian Ocean archipelago of 800,000 people is one of the world's poorest and most coup-prone states.

It has suffered more than 20 successful or attempted power grabs since gaining independence from France in 1975. Its first leader, Ahmed Abdallah, lasted barely a month before being ousted.

Azali is staging the poll after Comorans voted in a referendum, boycotted by the opposition, to support the extension of presidential mandates from one five-year term to two, rotating among the three islands.

The change upset a fragile balance of power established in 2001 that sought to end separatist crises on Anjouan and Moheli and halt the endless cycle of coups.

The opposition fears that Azali, a native of Grande Comore and last elected in 2016, could hold power for 10 more years until 2029.

The referendum last July led to violent protests on Anjouan, which would have taken over the presidency in 2021.

Soilihi Mohamed, one of those who has been barred from running, dismissed the election as a "great masquerade".

"The plot has been written out in advance. On the evening of March 24, there'll be an announcement of victory (for Azali) in the first round," Soilihi predicted. "It'll be forced through."

"Everyone is against him," Ahamada said.

Azali, a former army chief of staff, first seized power in a coup in April 1999.

He toppled an interim president he saw as weak in handling secessionist forces and then was elected in 2002.

Earlier this month, according to his staff, Azali survived an attempt on his life on Anjouan in which plotters used explosives to cause a rockslide targeting his motorcade.

His critics dismiss this account as bogus.

Juwa campaign director Ibrahim Mohamed Soule said Azali's team "creates fake attacks or fake incidents to deter people from participating in the elections freely".</s>There are 12 opposition candidates on the list at elections in the Comoros on Sunday, but none of them will succeed in throwing incumbent President Azali Assoumani out of office if he has his way.

A total of 19 candidates put their names forward for the March 24 election. However, the Supreme Court — which is primarily composed of Azali's allies — rejected the candidacy of former Finance Minister Mohamed Ali Soilih and Ibrahim Mohamed Soule of the Juwa Party.

Mohamed Soilihi, a member of the Union for the Development of the Comoros (UPDC), had hoped to defeat President Azali by using his popularity with the public. The court justified its decision by claiming that Mohamed Soilihi had not disclosed part of his estate. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Mohamed Soule was disqualified on the grounds that his application form for the elections was signed by the deputy secretary-general of the party and not the secretary-general himself, Ahmed al-Barwane — who has, however, been in jail for several months.

Read more: 2019: Africa heads into an election year

Mohamed Said Mchangama, a political analyst and the director of Hayba FM Radio, believes the exclusion of the two candidates was politically motivated.

"What is clear, or quite evident in Comoros, is that those who represent any kind of serious opposition or hurdle to President Azali are in jail, like [former] President [Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed] Sambi or the governor of Anjouan," he told DW. "Then Mohammed Soilihi, who was the main opposition of the president, and Ibrahim Mohammed Soule were disqualified. To the population, those decisions from the Supreme Court appeared to be quite political."

But the would-be candidates haven't disappeared from the political scene altogether: Rather than running for office themselves, they now each support a candidate of their choice.

"Ibrahim Mohamed Soule is now supporting Mahamoudou Ahamada," says Mchangama. Mahamoudou Ahamada, a 49-year-old lawyer of former President Sambi, is an official candidate of the Juwa party. "Everyone knew [President Azali] didn't want to have an opponent from Juwa, which is the main party," explains Mchangama. "So Juwa took another top candidate who President Azali didn't think had the makings of a serious opponent. But it seems, in fact, that he does."

Mohamed Ali Soilihi, for his part, is supporting a candidate from his own village, Mchangama says.

Read more: Mysterious uprising in the Comoros Islands

Ahmed Thabit, a former Comorian ambassador, is convinced that the opposition will win.

"People are saying that if the elections are secured, if they are organized in such a way that there is no rigging and foul play, the opposition alliance is definitely [set for] a win," he told DW. "And people are saying that if all 11 candidates from the opposition alliance stick to their declaration that they will back their colleague who will be competing against the outgoing president, then they will definitely win by a majority."

Other candidates include Mouigni Baraka Said Soliihi, the former governor of Grande Comore, who previously ran in the 2016 election, and Fahmi Said Ibrahim, best known as Mohamed Ali Soilihi's right-hand man. Most of the candidates are running as independents.

After winning a controversial referendum in 2018 that allowed him to seek another mandate, President Azali will again stand for re-election as the candidate of the Convention for the Renewable of the Comoros (CRC) party. Azali has been in office since 2016 and previously served terms from 1999 to 2002 and again from 2002 to 2006. Before the referendum, the constitution allowed the presidency to change every five years, with representatives from the country's three main islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, taking turns in the position. Although this is still maintained in principle, a sitting president's five-year term can now be extended once. And so the island of President Azali, Grand Comore — which is also home to the capital, Moroni — may hold the presidency once again. However, the referendum did not enjoy full support from Comorians and triggered violence in parts of the Comoros, leading to clashes between demonstrators and soldiers.

Nevertheless, Mchangama believes the elections will be peaceful. "I do not expect violence, and should Azali lose, I do not think there will be many who will fight for him." The overall impression of the population is that President Azali will not be elected in the first ballot in a transparent election. Even so, the mood in the Comoros remains tense and people are nervous about the outcome.

"One of Azali's former friends and officers has just announced that he is supporting another candidate and he will not stand idly by should Azali deceive, threaten and use force," says Mchangama.

Thabit also thinks the election will run smoothly. But he says the population is worried. "People are comparing this election to the 2016 election," he says. "At that time, the elections were secured. There was a military contingent from South Africa and international observers were there and everything went very smoothly. So people think that unless they have something like that, they don't think the elections will be free. People think that if the elections are not secured, then the National Electoral Committee will declare the outgoing president the winner."

The next president will be appointed after the first round of voting on March 24. If a winner cannot be determined, a runoff election will be held on April 21. Whoever secures the top job will have a lot of work to do, says Mchangama, especially when it comes to "energy and health care, as well as infrastructure and education." He says education is one of the key issues for all of the candidates: "The Comoros lacks citizens fit for the 21st century."

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>Opposition parties in Comoros say the forthcoming presidential elections could be marred with repression and vote rigging.

The Union of the opposition alliance has pledged to put up a brave fight with a united front against the incumbent President Azali Assoumani who is seeking another term in office.</s>The indomitable lions of Cameroon will today take on the coelacanths of Comoros at the Yaounde Omnisports Stadium in a match that will count for the final round of matches of the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.

Cameroon needs just a draw from Saturday’s game to qualify for the 2019 AFCON build for Egypt in June.

Nevertheless, Clarence Seedorf and his boys would better go in for a victory at the end of this round six AFCON qualifying game.

To make this dream come true, the lions have been sharpening skills and fine-tuning tactics in several training sessions since Tuesday March 18 with emphasis laid on an attacking football and corner kick strategies.

During the away leg match in the Comoros Island at the Mitsamiouli stadium, the indomitable lions found it very difficult to meet the nets of the Comoros’ goal keeper, but this time around, they are home and have more chances to qualify.

Added to advantage of playing home, the indomitable lions of Cameroon can count on the presence of their football fans who during the two open-day training sessions made it a duty to come and encourage them.</s>Polls opened Sunday in the tiny archipelago of Comoros, with President Azali Assoumani widely expected to win a new term in an election that rivals say has been hijacked.

Some 300,000 voters are expected to turn out, with polling stations opening at 8:00 am (0500 GMT).

“We need real change in this country, not empty words. We need peace, security and progress,” said Mohamed Chaine, 38, one of the first to vote in the capital, Moroni.

“I hope my choice will be respected,” said Allaoui Elarif, 70. “I don’t expect any trouble, demonstrations here. It is afterwards, at the election commission where I am afraid they will cheat.”

Huge campaign pictures of Azali, 60, emblazon the whitewashed walls of the capital Moroni and along roads on the three islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli.

Those of his rivals are minute — a comparison that seems to speak eloquently for their chances.

The Supreme Court has barred the bid of some of Azali’s major rivals, including former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, accused of corruption.

In a pre-election visit to Anjouan, Azali oozed confidence and burst out laughing when asked about defeat.

“That’s a question I won’t answer. When you set out to do something, you do it to win!”

The mainly-Muslim Indian Ocean archipelago of some 800,000 people is one of the world’s poorest and most coup-prone states.

It has suffered more than 20 successful or attempted power grabs since gaining independence from France in 1975. Its first leader, Ahmed Abdallah, lasted barely a month before being ousted.

Azali is staging the poll after Comorans voted in a referendum to support the extension of presidential mandates from one five-year term to two, rotating among the three islands.

The controversial change shocked a fragile balance of power established in 2001 that sought to end separatist crises on Anjouan and Moheli and halt the endless cycle of coups.

The opposition fears that Azali, a native of Grande Comore and last elected in 2016, could hold power for 10 more years until 2029.

The referendum last July led to violent protests on Anjouan, which would have taken over the presidency in 2021.

The head of the Union of the Opposition group, former deputy president Mohamed Ali Soilihi, is one of the candidates who has been barred from running.

“This election is a great masquerade. The plot has been written out in advance. On the evening of March 24, there’ll be an announcement of victory (for Azali) in the first round,” Soilihi predicted. “It’ll be forced through.”

“Everyone is against him,” said the leader of the Juwa Party, lawyer Mahamoudou Ahamada. “If the vote were transparent, he couldn’t win. Azali has no choice but to steal the election.”

Azali, a former army chief of staff, first seized power in a coup in April 1999.

He toppled an interim president he saw as weak in handling secessionist forces and then was elected in 2002.

Earlier this month, according to his staff, Azali survived an attempt on his life on Anjouan.

“People at the top of a mountain placed explosives, which they blew up to cause a rockslide” as his convoy passed, his campaign director, Houmed Msaidie, told AFP on March 7. “The president’s car stopped in time.”

Wires connected to dynamite were found at the scene, Msaidie said. Photos sent to AFP by a police official showed tree branches and rocks partially covering a road.

Juwa campaign director Ibrahim Mohamed Soule said Azali’s team “creates fake attacks or fake incidents to deter people from participating in the elections freely”.

In March 2008, Comoran troops backed by an African Union military force invaded Anjouan to put an end to the authoritarian rule of island leader Mohamed Bacar.

The one-time police chief was accused of atrocities including killings, torture and rape, as well as embezzlement, but he escaped.

The Comoros has tried repeatedly to lay claim at the UN General Assembly to the fourth and wealthiest island in their archipelago, Mayotte, whose inhabitants chose in a 1974 referendum to remain a French territory.

The gap in development has drawn many Comoran “boat people” to Mayotte in search of a better life.</s>MORONI (Reuters) - Police in Comoros used tear gas on Monday to disperse demonstrators led by opposition leaders protesting against what they said were fraudulent presidential elections, witnesses said.

Opposition candidates had said the Sunday poll was marred by irregularities including barring of independent monitors and marking of ballot papers before voting began, which the government denied.

About 300,000 voters in the Indian Ocean archipelago of 800,000 people took part in the elections, with results expected to be announced by electoral body CENI later on Monday.

Protests led by opposition candidates started on Monday morning, with nearly 1,000 people chanting “Azali Nalawe” (Azali outside), referring to incumbent President Azali Assoumani.

Assoumani, a former military officer, is widely expected to be re-elected.

Soilihi Mohamed, one of the candidates, said their objective was to “to prevent the power to validate the fraudulent results of the elections”.

The demonstrators marched towards Independence Square for a rally before taking the direction of the Peoples’ Palace, the venue for the counting of results, a Reuters witness said.

Ibrahim Ali Mzimba, another presidential candidate, suffered a cut to his face.

“I think I was grazed by a bullet that touched my face,” he said.

Comoros experienced months of unrest last year as authorities moved to quell protests against Assoumani’s bid to extend presidential term limits.

People on the archipelago’s Anjouan island were angry that the move, which allowed Assoumani to participate in Sunday’s poll, would deny them the presidency under a system that rotates the post among the country’s three main islands.
Voters in the Comoros head to the polls to elect a new President.