Comoros President Azali Assoumani has openly declared his intention to transfer power to his son, El-Fahd Azali, a move that has sparked widespread debate.
President Azali appointed his son as coordinator of government affairs, granting him significant authority within the Council of Ministers. In a speech delivered yesterday, Thursday, to his supporters on the island of Mohéli, Azali stated, “My son will succeed me as head of state and the party,” while hinting at the timeline for his departure from power.
El-Fahd Azali has yet to respond to a request for comment from Reuters but previously stated that “Comoros is not a monarchy.”
Azali’s ruling party secured a sweeping victory in this month’s parliamentary elections, although opposition parties either boycotted the polls or rejected the results, alleging electoral fraud.
Abdallah Mohamed Daoud, spokesman for the opposition coalition, commented, “With this statement, he has simply made official what we already knew.”
He added, “But Azali is deceiving himself. The people of Comoros and its politicians will never accept the imposition of a hereditary or monarchical system in the country.”
The Comoros, an archipelago of three main islands located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, has a population of approximately 800,000. Since gaining independence from France in 1975, the country has experienced around 20 coups or attempted coups.
Azali Assoumani first came to power in 1999 through a coup and has since won the presidency in four elections starting in 2002.
In 2018, constitutional amendments extended the rotation of the presidency among the three main islands from five to ten years. Under the current constitution, El-Fahd Azali would not be eligible to succeed his father at the end of his term in 2029 unless the constitution is amended again.
Source: Reuters
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