2019 Comorian presidential election
24 March 2019
Turnout53.84%
 
Candidate Azali Assoumani Mahamoud Ahamada Mouigni Baraka Saïd Soilihi
Party CRC Independent Independent
Popular vote 96,635 23,233 8,851
Percentage 60.77% 14.61% 5.57%
President before election

Azali Assoumani
CRC

 Elected President

Azali Assoumani
CRC

Early presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 24 March 2019 alongside regional elections.[1] A second round would have been held on 21 April if required,[2] but incumbent President Azali Assoumani was re-elected in the first round of voting.

Electoral system

Until 2018, the presidency of the Comoros rotated between the country's three main islands; Anjouan, Grande Comore and Mohéli. The 2010 elections were limited to Mohélian candidates and the 2016 elections saw candidates from Grand Comore contest the elections.[3] The next presidential election would have seen a president elected from Anjouan.

However, a constitutional referendum in July 2018 saw voters approve constitutional amendments that scrapped the rotation system and instituted a standard two-round system in which a candidate has to receive a majority of the vote in the first round to be elected, with a second round held if no candidate is able to win in the first round.[1] The changes also moved the next presidential elections forward to 2019 and allowed incumbent President Azali Assoumani run for a second term.[4]

The referendum led to violent protests and an armed uprising in Anjouan in October 2018, which was stopped by the military after several days.[5]

Candidates

A total of 20 candidates registered to contest the elections, with the Supreme Court determining the final list of eligible participants.[6] Incumbent President Assoumani ran for reelection, whilst other candidates attempting to register included the two losing candidates from the nationwide vote in 2016 (Mohamed Ali Soilihi and Mouigni Baraka) and Salim Saadi, who contested the 2016 primary elections as an independent.[6] Seven of the 20 applicants were rejected, including the main opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Soulé.[7]

Approved candidates
CandidatePartyNotes
Mahamoud AhamadaIndependentLawyer to former President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi
Azali AssoumaniConvention for the Renewal of the ComorosIncumbent President
Said Djaffar ElmacelyIndependent
Hassani HamadiIndependentGovernor of Grande Comore
Fahmi Said IbrahimIndependent
Hamidou KarihilaIndependentFormer Secretary of State for the Arab Worldm, ex-CRC
Saïd LarifouIndependentLeader of the RIDJA party
Ali MhadjiIndependentMP for Hambou, ex-CRC
Ibrahim Ali MzimbaIndependentPresident of the Bar Association
Salim SaadiIndependentEntrepreneur
Achmet SaïdIndependentDean of the Faculty of Science and Technology
Mohamed Ali SoilihiUnion for the Development of the Comoros
Mohamed SoilihiIndependentFormer Chief of Staff of the Comorian Army
Mouigni Baraka Saïd SoilihiIndependentFormer Governor of Grande Comore
Rejected candidates
Bourhane AbdallahIndependentEntrepreneur
Youssouf BoinaIndependent
Moustoifa Saïd CheikhDemocratic Front
Soilihi Mohamed SoilihiIndependentFormer ambassador to the United States
Zile SoilihIndependent
Ibrahim Mohamed SouléJuwa Party
Source: Al-Watwan

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Azali AssoumaniConvention for the Renewal of the Comoros96,63560.77
Mahamoud AhamadaIndependent23,23314.61
Mouigni Baraka Saïd SoilihiIndependent8,8515.57
Mohamed Ali SoilihiUnion for the Development of the Comoros6,1103.84
Hamidou KarihilaIndependent3,8802.44
Fahmi Said IbrahimIndependent3,7822.38
Hassani HamadiIndependent3,5762.25
Saïd LarifouIndependent3,3682.12
Achmet SaïdIndependent3,3262.09
Ibrahim Ali MzimbaIndependent2,1851.37
Ali MhadjiIndependent1,4840.93
Said Djaffar ElmacelyIndependent1,4740.93
Salim SaadiIndependent1,1040.69
Total159,008100.00
Valid votes159,00895.53
Invalid/blank votes7,4394.47
Total votes166,447100.00
Registered voters/turnout309,13753.84
Source: CENI

Aftermath

Following the election, the fourth-placed candidate Mohamed Soilihi called for the results to be invalidated and for a campaign of civil disobedience. He was subsequently arrested.[7]

References

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