Voters reject new constitution in Grande Comore

The reconciliation process in the Comoros was dealt a blow on Tuesday when 59 percent of voters on the main island of Grande Comore rejected a new local constitution. Analysts are hoping that the latest setback, in an archipelago that has seen more than twenty coups since 1975, will not trigger another political crisis. "The rejection of the constitution is not necessarily the nail in the coffin for the reconciliation process but instead a sign of the growing pains most countries experience on the road to peace and stability," Michel Davis, director of the South African-based Africa/Asia Foundation told IRIN. Davis added that the rejection of the constitution by referendum is likely to lead to a delay in presidential elections scheduled for the end of this month. "Let's hope that the delay of the presidential elections is the only consequence of the rejection of the constitution. However, events in the Comoros have often overtaken predictions and so we will have to wait and see," said Davis. It remains unclear why Grande Comore voters rejected the Indian Ocean island's constitution. Officials from the Organisation for African Unity reportedly said voters had complained they were not properly informed of the contents of the document. "If it is true that voters were in the dark about what the constitution actually means in their lives, then the government has no alternative but to embark on an intensive publicity campaign ... if the democratisation on the island is to be successful," Dr Heidi Hudson from the University of Stellenbosh told IRIN The road to reconciliation across the three island archipelago has been a rocky one. Just twenty-four hours before the referendum scheduled for 10 March, eight of the nine presidential candidates on Grande Comore pulled out of primaries citing massive electoral fraud. This resulted in a postponement until 17 March. "Voters were perhaps weary of the objections raised by opposition candidates just a week earlier and were perhaps reluctant to participate in an election widely publicised in the local media as flawed," Davis said. The referendum on Grand Comore was one of a series being held across the three islands - Grand Comore, Anjouan and Moheli - which constitute Comoros. Anjouan and Moheli voters had approved their local constitutions in referendums just over one week ago. These two islands are to later elect their presidents under a federal system. Meanwhile, former military strongman Colonel Azali Assoumani leads the first round of the presidential primaries on Grande Comore. Under the archipelago's new national constitution, the first president of the union of the Comoros will be elected by Grande Comore. The presidency is to rotate on a four-year basis between the three islands. The establishment of the Comoro Union was agreed upon after lengthy negotiations in 2001, to end years of political crisis and secessionist strife.