Comoros, one of the most obscure and poorest countries, with per capita income of US $700, will go to the polls on Sunday. The election is expected to deliver a fourth term to President Azali Assoumani, a former military officer accused by opponents of muscling competition. The nearly 1 million populated country, comprising three Islands – Anjouan, Grand Comore, and Moheli, is situated in the Southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwest of Madagascar. The president Assoumani, 65, who also held rotating chairperson role of the African Union in the last year, will face five competitors. The last election was in 2019. The country was colonised by the French and got its independence in 1975. The earlier vote followed constitutional reforms that removed a requirement that the presidency rotate among the country’s three main islands every five years, and thus allowed Assoumani to seek re-election. Under the new system, Assoumani, who first took power in a 1999 coup before stepping down in 2002 and then winning election 14 years later, would be required to step down in 2029.
