Reporting
Presidential election in the Comoros: calm day, the opposition's call to demonstrate remains a dead letter
Calm day, this Friday, January 19, in Moroni and throughout the country.
And this despite the appeal launched by the five opposition candidates, who consider themselves cheated by the results of the presidential election.
After the re-election of Azali Assoumani, riots broke out in Moroni and the five opposition candidates called yesterday for greater scope for this movement.
But their call was not followed.
No demonstrations took place in Moroni.
Listen - 01:20
This Friday morning, January 19, in front of the mosque in the Badjanani district in the heart of Moroni.
© David Baché/RFI
By: RFI Follow
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With our special correspondent in Moroni,
David Baché
An appointment was made at the exit of the mosque.
But many did not feel concerned.
“
I came for Friday prayers
,” assures a man, who says he is “
neutral
” when asked about the call to demonstrate.
Same story a little further on: “
We just came to pray.
I'm apolitical anyway.
The head was for Friday prayers.
»
Others would have wanted to amplify the protest movement to obtain the cancellation of the presidential election.
But they felt very alone.
“
I came to pray, but if there had been the demonstration, I would have gone to demonstrate against the electoral charade, the electoral putsch,”
says a resident of Moroni
.
It’s shenanigans
.”
Read alsoComoros: protests against the re-election of President Azali Assoumani continue
Another believes that fear has a lot to do with the lack of mobilization.
“
It’s freaking out, it’s freaking out.
When we hear that there are going to be demonstrations and that there is live ammunition, some people are afraid.
As long as we don't see a candidate take to the streets, we won't be able to, because there, it's just youth.
From the moment we see a candidate going down the road, why not, it's now or never.
I'm not going to go on the road alone!
»
According to several consistent direct testimonies, the young people who occupied the street in recent days received money to stop going out.
The call for demonstrations launched by the five opposition candidates, however, was not addressed to them, but to the entire population, in order to broaden the protest.
None of the five candidates who called for mobilization took to the streets of Moroni.
This missed meeting perhaps does not mark the end of the protest, but it does not contribute to amplifying it as its initiators had hoped.
In clashes between young demonstrators and the police in recent days, a young demonstrator was shot and killed and five others injured.
On Friday, despite the overall calm, it was a police officer who was beaten and taken to Moroni hospital.
Read alsoPresidential elections in the Comoros: calm morning in Moroni, the day after a call from the opposition to demonstrate
Furthermore, the European Union declared on Friday to “
take note
” of the official results of the Comorian presidential election and note “
with concern
” the accusations of fraud made by the opposition.
The United States, for their part, calls on the Comorian authorities “
to clarify the results
” announced before their promulgation by the Supreme Court, particularly “
the disparity in participation
” for the gubernatorial and presidential elections.
I find the current situation quite complex.
As a Comorian, I would never support the opposition's initiative.
In my eyes, the power in place and the opposition are too similar.
However, I fully agree with the uprising of the last days, because it is a citizen initiative aimed at exposing the problems we face.
01:11
Illiasse's testimony, leaving the mosque
Abdallah Mzembaba
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