Presidential elections were held in the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

on 21 February 2016, with a second round to be held on 10 April 2016, alongside elections for the Governors of the three islands. A re-run of the second round was held in thirteen constituencies on

Anjouan Anjouan () is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Comoros, Union of the Comoros. It is known in Comorian languages, Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentie ...

on 11 May.

Azali Assoumani Azali Assoumani (; born 1 January 1959) is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as the seventh President of the Comoros from 2002 to 2006 and again since 2016, except for a brief period in 2019. He became head of state after ...

of the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros was elected President with 41% of the vote.

Electoral system

The

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

of the Comoros rotates between the country's three main islands;

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, which i ...

and

Mohéli Mohéli , also known as Mwali, is an autonomously-governed island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the ...

. The 2006 elections were limited to candidates from Anjouan and the 2010 elections to Mohélian candidates. As a result, the 2016 elections will see presidential candidacy limited to Grande Comore residents. A primary election took place on Grande Comore on 21 February, with the three top candidates progressing to the nationwide second round on 10 April, where a plurality determined the winner.

Campaign

On 30 October 2013 former President Ahmed Sambi launched the Juwa Party, announcing that he would run in the elections.

Results

Reactions

Domestic

* Mohamed Ali Soilihi, presidential candidate from the Union for the Development of the Comoros and former vice president of Comoros, rejected the results. Ali Soilihi alleged that the released results by the Independent National Electoral Commission is only partial and that the margin is too small for them to declare the results.

International

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

: The African Union observers headed by Moncef Marzouki declared the elections to be free and transparent and was conducted in a peaceful manner. * : The Arab league declared the first round of elections free and fair. * : Prior to the election the European Union help fund and train Independent National Electoral Commission to help them conduct free and fair elections. Though the EU did not send an observer mission to the isles, the International Francophonie Organization based in France sent an observer team. The organization commended both the people and the authorities that held the elections in a peaceful and orderly process. * : The UN Secretary general

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

commended the people for conducting the elections peacefully and requested that all members of the election resolve their issues in a peaceful and legal manner.

Aftermath

After the provisional results were released, Mohamed Ali Soilihi refused to accept his defeat by

and claimed that not all the results from

had been properly released and the margin was too narrow for CENI to declare a winner. The Constitutional Court ordered a partial re-run to be held in 13 constituencies by 15 May.

References

{{Comorian elections

Presidential elections in the Comoros

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...