Comoros President, Azali Assoumani has publicly stated his intention to hand over power to his son, Nour El Fath, when he leaves office in 2029. This announcement validates long-standing accusations from critics that Assoumani has been grooming his son to succeed him.
Assoumani, who faced allegations of voter fraud during his re-election a year ago, had previously entrusted El Fath with the coordination of government affairs and granted him significant authority over the cabinet.
Speaking to supporters on the island of Moheli on Thursday, Assoumani declared: “I will place my son to replace me as head of the state and the party when the time comes for me to leave power.”
Nour El Fath has not yet responded to a request for comment but has previously dismissed suggestions that Comoros, a nation of three islands in the Indian Ocean, is moving toward monarchy.
The announcement comes after Assoumani’s ruling party secured a decisive victory in recent parliamentary elections. However, the opposition has denounced the elections, citing allegations of fraud and boycotting the vote.
“With this statement, he has only made official what we already knew,” said Abdallah Mohamed Daoudou, a spokesperson for the opposition coalition. “But Azali is deluding himself. The Comorian people and politicians will not accept the establishment of dynastic rule or a monarchy in the Comoros.”
Comoros, with a population of about 800,000, has a turbulent political history, having experienced around 20 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975.
Assoumani initially seized power in a coup in 1999 and has since won four elections. In 2018, constitutional reforms extended the presidency’s rotational requirement among the three main islands from five to ten years. Under the current constitution, El Fath would not be eligible to assume the presidency in 2029 unless further constitutional amendments are made
