By Abdou Moustoifa
MORONI (Reuters) – (The Jan. 24 story said the president’s comments confirmed accusations he had been grooming his son to take over. The story has been corrected to show the president’s remarks have been subject to differing interpretations, and the government denies he was talking about his son. The translation of the comments has also been corrected to show he referred to ‘a child’ who would succeed him. The original story quoted him as referring to “my son”. The Comorian word he used can mean ‘child,’ ‘son’ or ‘daughter.’)
Comoros President Azali Assoumani said in a speech to supporters that he would “take a child to put in my place” when he leaves office, comments his critics interpreted as confirming their suspicions that he is grooming his son to take over.
The president’s office denied in a statement on Jan. 24, the day after the speech, that his comments referred to his son, government secretary general Nour El Fath. It said instead that he was referring to all Comorians as his children.
The Comorian word that Assoumani used in his remarks can mean either “child”, “son” or “daughter”.
Assoumani, whose re-election a year ago faced opposition allegations of voter fraud, put El Fath in charge of coordinating government affairs last year and granted him far-reaching powers over the cabinet.
Referring to when the time comes for him to leave power, Assoumani said in a speech to supporters on Moheli, one of the archipelago’s three main islands: “I have three homes: my house, the party and the presidency. If you do not chase me out, I will leave by myself. I hope to do it alive, on my own two feet and, at the moment of leaving, to take a child to put in my place.”
In its statement, the president’s office said Assoumani’s remarks, delivered in Comorian, were not referring to El Fath.
“The government wishes to emphasise that at no time did President Azali speak of a possible succession of his son, Nour El Fath, as the head of the state,” it said.
“He instead spoke of ‘a child’ who would succeed him, knowing that it is customary in the Comoros to describe every citizen as ‘a child’, without necessarily speaking of one’s own offspring.”
The statement said the president had rejected the idea of family succession in an interview on Jan. 15 with the France 24 television station. In that interview, he pointed out that El Fath would be ineligible to run for president in 2029 under the constitution, which says the presidency must rotate among the Comoros’ three islands every 10 years.
Assoumani said El Fath would be free to run for president if he chose to when it was again his island’s turn.
Opponents of Assoumani, however, said the speech was evidence of a dynastic plan.
“With this statement, he has only made official what we already knew,” said Abdallah Mohamed Daoudou, a spokesperson for an opposition coalition.
“But Azali is deluding himself. The Comorian people and politicians will not accept the installation of a dynastic power or a monarchy in the Comoros,” Daoudou told Reuters.
Mahamoud Salim Hafi, the deputy secretary-general of the government, told Reuters that the opposition “wanted to hear something that was not said” in the president’s remarks.
“The president has never wanted to and will never hand over power to his son,” he said. “Comoros will never become a dynasty. We are in a republican state.”
Assoumani’s ruling party decisively won parliamentary elections this month, although opposition parties either boycotted the vote or rejected the results, claiming fraud.
Comoros has a population of about 800,000. It has witnessed around 20 coups or attempted coups since winning independence from France in 1975.
Assoumani first came to power in 1999 through a coup and has won four elections since 2002.
Constitutional reforms in 2018 extended a requirement that the presidency rotate among the three main islands from every five years to 10.
(Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Michael Perry)
