Voters in the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Comoros returned to the polls Sunday in the second round of a parliamentary election seen as a test for former leader Abdallah Sambi, a Muslim populist preparing a comeback. Minor incidents were reported during the vote, the results of which will give an indication of Sambi's support ahead of next year's presidential election.
Fist fights broke out at two polling stations in the capital Moroni on Grande Comore island, between supporters of Sambi's Juwa party and members of another party, an AFP reporter witnessed.
In another district, shops owned by people from Anjouan - another of the three islands making up Comoros, which is Sambi's home island - were defaced with graffiti. The election was seen as a face-off between Juwa and the party of President Ikililou Dhoinine, whose five-year term ends in May 2016.
By midday Sunday, there were no official turnout figures available. The results of the voting are not expected for several days.
Only three seats in the 33-member National Assembly were filled during the first round of polling last month, which passed off peacefully.
Sambi was president between 2006 and 2011.
Comments
Comments are closed.