Voters In Comoros Head To Polls To Elect 33-seat Parliament

Voters in Comoros were heading to the polls on Sunday to elect the Indian Ocean archipelagos 33-seat parliament, a year after the re-election of President Azali Assoumani in a poll which the opposition alleged was marred by widespread irregularities.

Officials from the ruling party have denied those allegations.

Polling stations opened early on Sunday and voters, numbering some 338,000 according to the polling body, started casting their ballots at 8 a.m. 0500 GMT. Comoros last had parliamentary elections in January 2020.

Nearly 100 candidates were selected by the countrys Supreme Court to contest the election.

Assoumanis opponents accuse him of authoritarian excesses and suspect him of wanting to prepare his eldest son, Nour El-Fath, to replace him when his term ends in 2029. Assoumani has been ruling Comoros since 1999 when he came to power through a coup. He has since won three elections.