Presidential elections were held in the
Comoros
The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...
on 16 April and 14 May 2006. As it was the turn of the island of
Anjouan to hold the union presidency, a primary election was held in Anjouan on 16 April, prior to a national election on 14 May. The result was a victory for
Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, who received 58% of the vote in the national election.
Background
The first
presidential elections held under the new constitution were conducted on 10 March and 14 April 2002. In the 10 March primary held on the island of
Grande Comore
Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, Comoros, ...
,
Azali Assoumani finished first out of a field of nine candidates with 39.81% of the vote. Mahamoud Mradabi and Saïd Ali Kemal also qualified to participate in the second round, obtaining 15.69% and 10.68%, respectively. However, Mradabi and Kemal alleged that irregularities had occurred during the primary and decided to boycott the 14 April poll. As a result, Azali Assoumani won approximately 80% of the vote.
A total of fourteen candidates were cleared to participate in the 2006 primaries by the country's constitutional court. However, one of the approved candidates, Antoy Abdou, withdrew prior to election day.
Electoral system
After a period of political instability that began in the late 1990s and saw the (unrecognized)
secession of
Anjouan and
Mohéli, a new constitution was approved in a December 2001 referendum. It created a union of semi-
autonomous islands, each with its own constitution, president, and
assembly. The position of union president, who is the
head of state and government, rotates between the three islands every four years.
A primary election is held on the island that will hold the union presidency. The three candidates who receive the most votes then stand in a nationwide election with a simple
plurality
Plurality may refer to:
Voting
* Plurality (voting), or relative majority, when a given candidate receives more votes than any other but still fewer than half of the total
** Plurality voting, system in which each voter votes for one candidate and ...
needed to win.
Results
External links
BBC News: Q & A - Comoros ElectionsBBC News: Comoros polls test peace plan
{{Comorian elections
Comoros
The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...
Presidential election
Presidential elections in the Comoros
April 2006 events in Africa
May 2006 events in Africa