Three items from the past few days (two stories from today and a backgrounder from Friday) that update Thursday's pair:
From Reuters...
(An earlier version is also still available on AlertNet.)
Famous for its coup-laden history and links to legendary French mercenary Bob Denard, Comoros held the first round of presidential elections on Sunday intended to cement democracy on the Indian Ocean islands.
Under a power-sharing pact aimed at ending decades of strife among the palm-fringed archipelago's three islands, 117,000 voters on the isle of Anjouan were voting to whittle down 14 presidential hopefuls to three for a national election in May.
The largest island Grand Comore has the presidency now while the smallest, Moheli, is due to take it in 2010.
With Comoran security forces asked to keep a low profile due to past tensions, a 460-strong contingent of African Union (AU) soldiers and medics were on standby to ensure peace in Anjouan.
One person was bludgeoned to death with an iron bar in a row over politics several days before the poll, but early voting was peaceful on Sunday, witnesses said.
Many polling stations opened late with some not receiving voters even at midday, a Reuters reporter saw.
The president of the National Electoral Commission Abderemane Hilali said 2,000 under-age voters had been detected on the register and struck off before they could cast ballots.
One local photogapher, Ibrahim Youssouf, complained a Nigerian soldier in the AU contingent had confiscated his camera as he took a photo in a ballot station. It was later returned.
But on the whole, voters said it was calm. "There seem to be no major incidents," said technician Said Ali.
FRENCH MERCENARY
A popular tourist destination which relies on vanilla and cloves for export earnings, Comoros is perhaps best-known abroad for its cycle of 19 coups or attempted coups since independence from France in 1975.
The 76-year-old Denard, who is linked to various conflicts in Africa, awaits judgement from a Paris court for his alleged role in the 1995 coup that toppled then Comoran leader Mohammed Djohar and brought an intervention by French troops.
Comoros also has notoriety as the birthplace of east Africa's top al Qaeda suspect -- Fazul Abdullah Mohammed -- who is blamed for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and a 2002 attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya.
And lying 300 km (180 miles) off the east African coastline, the Comoros chain's colourful history also includes serving as a sanctuary for pirates marauding in the Indian Ocean.
Some of the Comoros' 600,000 people doubt whether incumbent president Azaly Assoumani, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1991 and was then elected in 2002, will step down peacefully.
Analysts and diplomats say Sunday's vote is therefore a crucial test of stability and, if the process is successful, foreign aid and loans will flow.
"This election is definitely seen as a turning point for the Comoros," said one western diplomat.
Popular Islamic leader and former member of parliament Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, who has his own television and radio station in Anjouan, is one of the top contenders.
Other candidates include Caabi El-Yachroutu Mohamed, vice-president of the Union of Comoros who has close ties with international donors, and Abderemane Ibrahim Halidi, a teacher from a deprived area viewed as the candidate of the poor.
Early indications are that the elections process in the Comoros is proceeding well. Residents on the island of Anjouan are voting in the first round of this country's crucial presidential election.
Mohamed Saihad, an election observer from the Comoran constitutional court, was at the polls early this morning and says he's happy with the process so far, even though some voting stations opened a bit late.
According to Saihad, the process leading up to the first election day was free, fair and transparent. He indicated that the role played by the African Union (AU) security forces in the Comoros is a crucial one.
South Africa is driving the peacekeeping initiative with nearly 400 soldiers having been deployed on the islands to ensure peace during the election period.
From the BBC...
Comorans vote on 16 April in the first round of a presidential election which observers see as a key test of whether, after three decades of instability, the Indian Ocean archipelago can make the transition to peaceful political change.
What's at stake?
Since independence from France in 1975, the country has witnessed 20 coup attempts - four of them successful - often involving foreign mercenaries, as well as bitter inter-island strife and assassinations.
Western observers have described the polls as a turning point, with a successful election being seen as a test of Comoros' power-sharing arrangements and its quest to end its image as a chronically unstable country.
The people of the Comoros are among the poorest in Africa and are heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Concerns have been expressed that if the international community does not consider the polls to be largely free and fair, it could delay the disbursement of aid worth some $200 million pledged as part of a three-year development plan in 2005.
What's the political system?
Under the constitution and political agreements reached in 2001, the Union presidency rotates every four years between Comoros' three semi-autonomous islands - Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli.
President Azali Assoumani, from Grand Comore, won the first election in 2002 after coming to power via a bloodless coup three years earlier. In mid-2005, he tried unsuccessfully to change the rules and stand for a second term but is ineligible to run.
It is now Anjouan's turn to hold the presidency and on 16 April its voters will short-list three candidates who will go on to stand in national elections on 14 May, in which voters from among the population of all 670,000 Comorans will vote.
The union president has two deputies who must not come from the same island as the president.
Who is watching the polls?
The elections are being carefully scrutinised by Comoros' neighbours, in particular South Africa, as well as by the African Union (AU) and Arab League.
South Africa is leading a 460-strong AU mission which began operations in the capital, Moroni, on 30 March.
The mission consists of civilian and military police to provide security, as well as poll observers. One of its key is to ensure that Comoran troops do not interfere in the voting.
The government has ordered its soldiers to remain in their barracks.
France has pledged [$1.2 million] to be channelled through the UNDP.
Who are the candidates?
The elections are overseen by the Comoros National Electoral Commission.
The authorities have cleared 13 candidates for the Anjouan primaries, including veteran politicians, former military officers and prominent Islamists. For the first time, the candidates are accompanied by their running mates and the polls are also the first to feature women candidates.
Observers view the high number of candidates as a sign of a tight race.
The candidates include:
Caabi Mohamed El-Yachroutu, who has held several top positions such as prime minister and union vice president; he is said to have close ties with ex-colonial power France and international donors.
Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, an Islamic preacher and former MP; he owns a radio and television station in Anjouan, which he is using to support his candidacy.
Abderemane Ibrahim Halidi, a former prime minister and teacher from the deprived region of Nioumakele in Anjouan; he is being supported by the incumbent president and his party, the Convention for the Restoration of Comoros.
What happens on voting day?
On 16 April, some 120,000 eligible voters from a population of 270,000 on Anjouan will cast their ballots at 222 polling stations.
The polls open at 0700 (0400 GMT) and close at 1800 (1500 GMT), although the electoral commission has said the closing time may be extended.
Preliminary returns could be announced the same evening but final results are not expected until the Constitutional Court validates the tally on 19 April.
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