GENEVA: The United Nations has called for restraint in the Comoros as security forces clashed with protesters expressing their dissatisfaction with the re-election of President Azali Assoumani. The official results showed Assoumani winning 62.97 percent of the vote in Sunday’s ballot. However, opposition leaders contested the results, alleging ballot-stuffing and inconsistencies.
Protests erupted in the capital, Moroni, on Tuesday, with reports of demonstrators ransacking a former minister’s house and attempting to block roads. Police responded with tear gas and arrests. The UN rights chief, Volker Turk, emphasized the need for a safe environment where all Comorans, including the political opposition, can freely express their views and exercise their right to peaceful assembly.
Turk’s statement urged all parties to exercise restraint, discouraging violence and emphasizing the importance of preserving public infrastructure. While acknowledging that deliberate damage is unacceptable, he stressed the authorities’ responsibility to ensure the safety and freedom of peaceful demonstrators.
Political Unrest in Comoros After Election
The UN expressed concern about the curtailed civic and democratic space leading up to the presidential vote, with reports of arbitrary arrests and alleged enforced disappearances. Turk called for an end to the ban on demonstrations and public political gatherings that has been in place since 2019. He urged the Comoros government to promote democracy and pluralism by creating space for dialogue and addressing human rights abuses.
Turk emphasized the need to release arbitrarily detained individuals, investigate rights violations during the pre-election period, and hold perpetrators accountable. Without these measures, he warned that the fulfillment of democracy in the Comoros would remain at risk.
