Island nation of Comoros votes in 2nd round of parliamentary elections

By Jamal Jamal

LILONGWE, Malawi (AA) – At least 340,000 registered voters began voting on Sunday in the second round of parliamentary elections in the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros to elect members of its 33-seat parliament.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. local time and voting will continue till 4 p.m. (0500-1300GMT).

The Supreme Court cleared 100 candidates to participate in the elections.

Results are expected over the course of the week, according to electoral commission officials.

The first round of the elections took place on Jan. 12, but was boycotted by the main opposition party, Juwa, which claimed the vote lacked transparency and was a "farce."

According to the Independent National Election Commission, the ruling party Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros won 28 of the 33 seats.

Comoros, home to 850,000 people, is an archipelago of three islands off the coast of Africa near Madagascar. It has been beset by a series of military coups since gaining independence from France in 1975.

Its current President Azali Assoumani has been in power since 2016. He extended his time in office through a constitutional referendum in 2018 that removed presidential term limits.​​​​​​​