The Comoros experienced an eventful political day this Sunday, with the official announcement of three candidacies for the presidential election on January 14. Mouigni Baraka Saïd Soilihi, former governor of the island of Grande Comore, and Mohamed Daoudou, former Minister of the Interior under Azali Assoumani, have positioned themselves on the side of the opposition. The third candidate is the current president, Azali Assoumani, who is running for a second term.
Azali Assoumani officially announced his candidacy for the island of Anjouan, humbly asserting that he was neither better nor more intelligent than the others, but that it was the choice of the Comorians to support him. Azali has been in office since returning to power in 2016.
For his part, Mohamed Daoudou, former Minister of the Interior and former government spokesperson, joined the ranks of the Comorian opposition after being dismissed in 2021. He will be the candidate of the Orange party, the only formation of the opposition to having deputies in the National Assembly.
As for Mouigni Baraka Saïd Soilihi, of the RDCE party, he led the island of Grande Comore from 2011 to 2016 and is trying for the third time to access the presidency.
These three candidacies are in addition to those of five other candidates who have already declared themselves, including Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, from the opposition, currently in detention since 2018 and sentenced to life in prison for high treason in the context of the affair of economic citizenship.
The Comoros presidential election next January therefore promises to be a key event for the country, with a strategic choice to be made between the candidates in the running. Comorians are certainly impatiently waiting to know the programs and proposals of each candidate for the future of the country.
It remains to be seen how this political competition will unfold in a context marked by significant economic, social and security issues. The coming months will therefore be decisive for the future of the Comoros and the democratic exercise in the country.