Comorian presidential election, 2010

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Comorian presidential election, 2010
Flag of the Comoros.svg
  2006 7 November 2010
26 December 2010
2016  

  Ikililou Dhoinine 2012.jpg
Nominee Ikililou Dhoinine Mohamed Said Fazul Abdou Djabir
Popular vote 111,279 59,437 11,339
Percentage 61.12% 32.65% 6.23%

President before election

Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi

Elected President

Ikililou Dhoinine

Coat of arms of Comoros.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
the Comoros

Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 7 November 2010, with a second round on 26 December, [1] alongside gubernatorial elections for the three main islands. [2] The result was a victory for Ikililou Dhoinine, who received 61% of the vote.

Comoros sovereign archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean

The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an island country in the Indian Ocean located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique, the French region of Mayotte, and northwestern Madagascar. The capital and largest city in Comoros is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population is Sunni Islam.

Ikililou Dhoinine Comoros president

Ikililou Dhoinine is a Comorian politician who was the President of the Comoros from 2011 to 2016; he was a Vice-President of Comoros from 2006 to 2011.

Contents

Background

There had been an attempt to delay the elections until 27 November 2011 and extend the presidential term until then. [3] However, the Constitutional Court ruled this unconstitutional in May 2010. [4]

Electoral system

In Comoros, the presidency rotates every four years between the federation's three constituent islands: Anjouan, Mohéli and Grande Comore. This rotation was Mohéli's turn to supply the president. [5] Incumbent president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi was from Anjouan, and was thus not able to stand as a candidate.

A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. Such states differ from fully sovereign states, in that they do not have full sovereign powers, as the sovereign powers have been divided between the federated states and the central or federal government. Importantly, federated states do not have standing as entities of international law. Instead, the federal union as a single entity is the sovereign state for purposes of international law. Depending on the constitutional structure of a particular federation, a federated state can hold various degrees of legislative, judicial and administrative jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory and is a form of regional government.

Anjouan island

Anjouan is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, as of 2006, its population is around 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 square kilometers.

Mohéli island

Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is an autonomous island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros.

The president was elected in two rounds; in the first round, voters in Mohéli voted in a primary election, with the top three candidates advancing to the second round, where a nationwide vote was carried out, with the winner decided by plurality voting.

A primary election is the process by which voters, either the general public or members of a political party, can indicate their preference for a candidate in an upcoming general election or by-election, thus narrowing the field of candidates.

Plurality voting is an electoral system in which each voter is allowed to vote for only one candidate, and the candidate who polls the most among their counterparts is elected. In a system based on single-member districts, it may be called first-past-the-post (FPTP), single-choice voting, simple plurality or relative/simple majority. In a system based on multi-member districts, it may be referred to as winner-takes-all or bloc voting. The system is often used to elect members of a legislative assembly or executive officers. It is the most common form of the system, and is used in most elections in the United States, the lower house in India, most elections in the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Candidates

There were ten candidates in the presidential primary election. President Sambi supported his Vice President Ikililou Dhoinine. Another candidate from the Presidential Movement was Mohamed Larifou Oukacha, secretary-general of the presidency, showing a possible split in the Presidential faction. The other eight candidates were from the opposition. [6] Among them were Mohamed Said Fazul, former governor of Mohéli, and Zahariat Saïd Ahmed, the sole female candidate. [7]

Mohamed Said Fazul was president of the Comorian island of Mohéli from 19 May 2002 to 1 July 2007.

Results

Ikililou Dhoinine, Mohamed Said Fazul and Bianrifi Tarmidhi received the most votes in the first round primary. However, Tarmidhi's total number of votes was cut down on 13 November by the constitutional court after it had decided to invalidate the ballots from several polling stations. [8] This meant that, besides Dhoinine and Fazul, Abdou Djabir advanced to the second round.

Abdou Djabir Msada is a Comorian politician and civil servant. He ran for the Presidency of the Comoros in 2010 and finished in third place behind winner Ikililou Dhoinine. Djabir was born on the island of Mohéli and worked as a civil servant in France.

CandidateMohéli primaryNational election
Votes%Votes%
Ikililou Dhoinine 3,78528.19111,27961.12
Mohamed Said Fazul 3,08022.9459,43732.65
Abdou Djabir 1,3279.8811,3396.23
Bianrifi Tarmidi 1,2509.31
Saïd Dhoifir Bounou1,1548.59
Hamada Madi Bolero1,0607.89
Mohamed Larifou Oukacha9777.28
Mohamed Hassanaly5233.90
Abdoulhakim Ben Allaoui2081.55
Zahariat Saïd Ahmed630.47
Invalid/blank votes39113,812
Total14,378100195,867100
Registered voters/turnout21,42967.10384,35851.00
Source: Adam Carr

Related Research Articles

Politics of the Comoros

Politics of the Union of the Comoros takes place in a framework of a federal presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.

Azali Assoumani President of Comoros

Azali Assoumani is a Comorian politician who is the President of the Comoros. He has been in office since 2016. Previously he was President from 1999 to 2002 and again from 2002 to 2006.

Elections in the Comoros

Elections in the Comoros take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and the majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Union are directly elected.

Assembly of the Union of the Comoros

The unicameral Assembly of the Union of the Comoros is the country's legislative body. It was established in 2004, and its predecessor was the Federal Assembly.

Assembly of the Autonomous Island of Mohéli

The Assembly of the Autonomous Island of Mohéli is the island's legislative body.

2006 Comorian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the Comoros 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.

Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi President of Comoros

Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi is a Comorian Islamic leader and politician, and former President of Comoros. He is popularly known as 'Ayatollah'. After easily winning the 14 May 2006 presidential election with 58.02% of the national vote, Sambi was inaugurated as President of the Union of the Comoros on 26 May 2006. It was the first peaceful transfer of power in the history of the Comoros.

Mohamed Djaanfari is a politician in The Comoros. He is a retired French air force officer, local transportation tycoon and Vice-President of the Assembly of the Union of the Comoros. He contested the 2006 presidential elections and ended up losing badly to Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. He received only 13.65% of the national vote on 14 May 2006, compared to Sambi's 58.02%.

Ahmed Ben Said Djaffar is a politician in the Comoros. He is the current foreign minister under Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi since Sambi's inauguration on 28 May 2006.

President of Anjouan

The President of Anjouan is the head of Anjouan, one of the three islands of the Union of Comoros. The position was firstly established in 1997 after the Declaration of independence of Anjouan. Secondly the position became President of the autonomous island of Anjouan following the adoption of the Union of Comoros Constitution of 2001.

2008 invasion of Anjouan conflict

The invasion of Anjouan, on 25 March 2008, was an amphibious assault led by the Comoros, backed by African Union (AU) forces, including troops from Sudan, Tanzania, Senegal, along with logistical support from Libya and France. The objective of the invasion was to topple Colonel Mohamed Bacar's leadership in Anjouan, an island in the Union of Comoros, when he refused to step down after a disputed 2007 election, in defiance of the federal government and the AU. The Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean has had a fractious history since independence from France in 1975, experiencing more than 20 coups or attempted coups.

2008 Anjouan presidential election

A presidential election was held in Anjouan on 15 June and 29 June 2008 following the 2008 invasion of Anjouan to oust Mohamed Bacar as President of Anjouan. The election was won by Moussa Toybou, who defeated Mohamed Djaanfari in the second round.

2009 Comorian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in the Comoros on 6 December 2009, with a second round on 20 December. The elections were originally scheduled for July 2009, but were postponed until after a constitutional referendum was held in May 2009. They were then scheduled to take place on 29 November, but were delayed again. The result was a victory for the Baobab Movement, a coalition supporting President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi.

2016 Comorian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 21 February 2016, with a second round to be held on 10 April 2016, alongside elections for the Governors of the three islands. Azali Assoumani of the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros was elected President with 41% of the vote.

Union for the Development of the Comoros

The Union for the Development of the Comoros is a political alliance in the Comoros. The party's president is Mohamed Halifa.

2019 Comorian presidential election

Early presidential elections will be held in the Comoros on 24 March 2019 alongside regional elections. If required, a second round will be held on 21 April.

References

  1. "Comoros leaders agree to poll timetable | Top News | Reuters". Af.reuters.com. 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  2. "Élection des présidentielles de l'Union et des gouverneurs des îles : les bureaux ouverts avec des légers retards" (in French). Moroni: Al Watwan. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  3. "Comoros to hold elections in November 2011 - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  4. "Comoros election talks fail: News24: Africa: News". News24. 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  5. Comoros: Government Global Edge
  6. Ahmed, M. Soilihi (14 September 2010). "Elections harmonisées : 10 prétendants au siège de président et 29 aux postes de gouverneur" (PDF) (in French). Al Watwan. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  7. "Fin de la campagne. Les candidats et leurs états majors se reposent en attendant le jour "J"" (in French). Al Watwan. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  8. "Publication des résultats définitifs: La cour constitutionnelle rétrograde Bianrifi au profit du candidat Djabir" (in French). La Gazette des Comores. 13 November 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.