Comoros President Azali Assoumani has appointed his son, Nour El Fath, to coordinate government affairs in a cabinet reshuffle following a contentious January election marred by allegations of voter fraud.
Violent protests erupted after the election commission declared Assoumani re-elected for a fourth five-year term, resulting in one death and at least 25 injuries. The Comoros archipelago, located off the coast of Mozambique, has a history of political instability.
Political analysts, opposition leaders, and local media suggest that Assoumani is grooming El Fath, a 40-year-old finance expert and senior economic adviser since 2019, as his successor.
In the new cabinet, Assoumani appointed Ibrahim Mohamed Abdou Razakou as finance minister, Said Omar Houmadi as justice minister, and reappointed Youssoufa Mohamed Ali as defense minister.
Mohamed Jaffar Abbas, head of the opposition coalition, criticized Assoumani for “trying to build a dynasty,” noting that Assoumani’s nephew previously held the same role as government secretary general.
Comoros, with a population of about 800,000, has experienced around 20 coups or attempted coups since its independence from France in 1975 and is a major source of irregular migration to the nearby French island of Mayotte.
Constitutional reforms in 2018 extended the presidency’s rotation among the three main islands of Comoros from every five years to 10. El Fath would thus be ineligible to succeed his father in 2029 unless the constitution is amended again.
