2016 Comorian presidential election
21 February 2016 (primary)
10 April 2016 (national)
Turnout74.48% (primary)
69.12% (national)
 
Nominee Azali Assoumani Mohamed Ali Soilihi Mouigni Baraka
Party CRC UPDC RDC
Popular vote 81,214 77,736 37,073
Percentage 41.43% 39.66% 18.91%
President before election

Ikililou Dhoinine

 Elected President

Azali Assoumani
CRC

Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 21 February 2016, with a second round to be held on 10 April 2016,[1][2] alongside elections for the Governors of the three islands.[3] A re-run of the second round was held in thirteen constituencies on Anjouan on 11 May.[4] Azali Assoumani of the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros was elected President with 41% of the vote.

Electoral system

The presidency of the Comoros rotates between the country's three main islands; Anjouan, Grande Comore and Mohéli. The 2006 elections were limited to candidates from Anjouan and the 2010 elections to Mohélian candidates. As a result, the 2016 elections will see presidential candidacy limited to Grande Comore residents.[5]

A primary election took place on Grande Comore on 21 February, with the three top candidates progressing to the nationwide second round on 10 April, where a plurality determined the winner.[2]

Campaign

On 30 October 2013 former President Ahmed Sambi launched the Juwa Party, announcing that he would run in the elections.[6]

Results

CandidatePartyGrand Comore primaryNational vote
Votes%Votes%
Mohamed Ali SoilihiUnion for the Development of the Comoros19,54117.6177,73639.66
Mouigni BarakaDemocratic Rally of the Comoros16,73815.0937,07318.91
Azali AssoumaniConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros16,59614.9681,21441.43
Fahmi Said IbrahimIndependent16,03414.45
Larifou SaidRally for a Development Initiative with an Enlightened Youth6,7956.12
Bourhane HamidouIndependent6,3975.77
Mohamed DaoudouOrange Party4,6624.20
Said Hachim AchiraffiConvention for Democratic Alternation and Mutual Interaction3,2292.91
Assoumani AboudouURANGO2,8472.57
Mohamed IssimaliaIndependent2,0411.84
Salimou Mohamed AmiriIndependent1,9381.75
Nassor Mohamed AliIndependent1,9011.71
Mzé Abdou Soulé El-BackSocial Democrat Party of the Comoros–Dudja1,7671.59
Said Ali Kemal Ed-Dine1,5701.42
Abdouloihabi MohamedPolitical Alliance for the Safeguarding of Institutions1,3771.24
Ibrahima Hissani MfoihayaAlliance of Progressive Forces for Change1,3661.23
Allaoui Said HaimdouUlezi1,0550.95
Salim SaadiIndependent1,0330.93
Cheikh Ahmed Said AbdourahmaneMovement for the Development of the Comoros7670.69
Youssouf Abdou MoinaechaIndependent7350.66
Said Ahmed Said AliComorian Union for Progress5730.52
Youssouf Said MahaziIndependent5520.50
Mohamed Mohamed Ali DiaKomor Ya Leo Na Messo5350.48
Maecha MtaraNational Rally for Development–Renewal4550.41
Mahamoud Ahmed WadaaneRIFAID4430.40
Total110,947100.00196,023100.00
Valid votes110,94793.89196,02394.22
Invalid/blank votes7,2146.1112,0265.78
Total votes118,161100.00208,049100.00
Registered voters/turnout158,64574.48301,00669.12
Source: Comores Infos (first round, second round)

Reactions

Domestic

  • Mohamed Ali Soilihi, presidential candidate from the Union for the Development of the Comoros and former vice president of Comoros, rejected the results. Ali Soilihi alleged that the released results by the Independent National Electoral Commission is only partial and that the margin is too small for them to declare the results.[7]

International

  • African Union: The African Union observers headed by Moncef Marzouki declared the elections to be free and transparent and was conducted in a peaceful manner.[8]
  •  Arab League: The Arab league declared the first round of elections free and fair.[9]
  •  European Union: Prior to the election the European Union help fund and train Independent National Electoral Commission to help them conduct free and fair elections.[10] Though the EU did not send an observer mission to the isles, the International Francophonie Organization based in France sent an observer team. The organization commended both the people and the authorities that held the elections in a peaceful and orderly process.[11]
  •  United Nations: The UN Secretary general Ban Ki-moon commended the people for conducting the elections peacefully and requested that all members of the election resolve their issues in a peaceful and legal manner.[12]

Aftermath

After the provisional results were released, Mohamed Ali Soilihi refused to accept his defeat by Azali Assoumani and claimed that not all the results from Anjouan had been properly released and the margin was too narrow for CENI to declare a winner.[13] The Constitutional Court ordered a partial re-run to be held in 13 constituencies by 15 May.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Massey, Simon (2016-02-18). "Presidential Elections in the Comoros: Whose turn is it anyway?". African Arguments. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  2. 1 2 "Comoros: Key presidential poll runoff set for Sunday, April 10". Africa News. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  3. ↑ Comoros: Elections difficult to fund Archived 2017-10-24 at the Wayback Machine Indian Ocean Times, 10 September 2014
  4. ↑ "Key presidential re-run in Comoros on May 11". Africa News. 10 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Comoros: Government". Global Edge. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  6. ↑ "Former president to stand again in 2016 election". Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  7. ↑ "Former Comoros Veep rejects presidential results". Africa News. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  8. ↑ "Soilihi 'wins First Round Of Comoros Elections'". ENCA. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  9. ↑ "Observers Declare Comoros Legislative Election Free, Transparent | Bloomberg". Verified Voting. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  10. ↑ "PACTE Comoros II". European Centre for Electoral Support. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  11. ↑ Mmadi, Ali (25 February 2015). "Observers Declare Comoros Legislative Election Free, Transparent". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  12. ↑ Admin. "Ki-moon Lauds Comoros For Peaceful Elections". News Ghana. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  13. ↑ AfricaNews (21 April 2016). "Comoros runoff election results remains in doubt | Africanews". Africa News. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  14. ↑ "Comoros Court Orders Partial Re Run Of Presidential Poll". ENCA. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
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