Controversial draft bill withdrawn

Political analysts and rights activists in the Comoros have applauded the withdrawal of a draft law allowing Union President Azali Assoumani to vie for a second four-year term in elections next year. "By abandoning the legislation, Assoumani has shown that it is important to respect the constitution. This has set an important precedent, especially since there were expectations that he would have insisted on another term in office," local political analyst Abdorahim Said Bacar told IRIN. Under the archipelago's national constitution, adopted in 2001, the federal presidency rotates every four years among the elected presidents of the three islands in the Union: Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli. Assoumani, who grabbed power in a military coup in 1999, was elected Union President with 75 percent of the vote in December 2002, and is expected to give way to a presidential candidate from Anjouan in general elections set for April 2006. Said Bacar pointed out that Assoumani would have had a difficult time getting the law passed, as the 33-seat federal assembly was dominated by opposition parties with 26 seats. "One cannot say for sure what the real reasons were for the withdrawal of the draft bill, but Assoumani would have had a battle to face if he pushed any further to stand for re-election," he added. Ahmed Allaoui, president of the Comoros Foundation for Human Rights, said scrapping the draft bill would help to consolidate political stability in a country that has seen more than 20 coups since 1975, adding, "We would have definitely seen some kind of protests on the streets if the legislation was passed, since the population would have seen it as some kind of betrayal."