Reports reaching the desk of Africa Today News, New York has it that polls have opened in the Comoros in an election that has President Azali Assoumani contesting for a fourth five-year term which was been deemed controversial by many critics.
The 69 year old Assoumani, is being challenged by five opponents in the vote some opposition leaders have boycotted accusing the election commission of favouring the ruling party.
The commission denies this, saying the process will be transparent. Over 338 000 voters are registered for the election out of a population of 800,000.
An army officer who first came to power in a coup in 1999, President Assoumani would be required to step down in 2029 should he win the vote.
Read Also: “Refrain From Intervening” In Taiwan Election, China Tells US
In another report, the government of China has called on the US to “refrain from intervening” in self-ruled Taiwan’s election, berating official visits between the island and the US after Washington said it would send a delegation there following this week’s polls.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that Washington must “refrain from intervening in the elections in the Taiwan region in any form, so as to avoid causing serious damage to China-US relations”.
“China always firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between the US and Taiwan,” she added, following Washington’s announcing plans to send an “unofficial” delegation to Taiwan after a crucial election on the self-ruled island.
“There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” she added.
China “expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the American side’s brazen chattering about the elections in the Taiwan region,” she said.
“Taiwan is the core of China’s core interests and is the number one red line that must not be transgressed in the China-US relationship,” Mao stressed.
“We urge the US side… to take practical actions to deliver on the commitments made by the two countries’ leaders,” she said.
Mao also condemned a US warning to Beijing against stoking tensions over the polls.