MORONI (Reuters) – The ruling party in the Comoros won decisively in parliamentary elections this week, the electoral commission said, but opposition parties either boycotted the vote or rejected the results, claiming fraud.
The Independent National Election Commission (CENI) announced late on Tuesday that the ruling party had secured 28 out of 33 parliamentary seats in Sunday’s election.
The ruling party held 22 of the 24 seats in the outgoing parliament, which was expanded by a 2023 change in the law.
The main opposition Juwa party did not take part in the election in the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago because of concerns over its transparency, and called the results a farce.
“The boycotting of the electoral masquerade by Comorians has exposed the electoral fraud and ballot stuffing in broad daylight,” Juwa Secretary General Hassane Ahmed el-Barwane said in a statement.
Abdallah Mohamed, a spokesperson for the opposition parties that did participate, said the vote was marred by irregularities and they rejected the results.
“Our representatives who opposed ballot stuffing were expelled from the polling stations,” Mohamed told journalists on Monday.
“The opposition’s accusations of fraud are unfounded. If they feel wronged, they must bring the evidence to court,” Elections Minister Fakridine Mahamoud told Reuters on Tuesday.
Shortly after casting his vote on Sunday, President Azali Assoumani dismissed the fraud allegations.
Assoumani’s opponents accuse him of authoritarian rule and of preparing his eldest son, Nour El-Fath, to replace him when his term ends in 2029.
There have been more than a dozen attempted coups in the Comoros, which has a population of just 800,000 people, since it gained independence from France in 1975.
(Reporting by Abdou Moustoifa; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hereward Holland and Frances Kerry)
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