Controversial Comoros president seeks third term in polls

MORONI   –  Voters in the Comoros choose a new president on Sunday with incumbent Azali Assoumani, who has already extended his time in office through constitutional change, voic­ing confidence of winning a third consecutive term against a divided opposition. Nearly 340,000 people are eligible to vote in the pre­dominantly Muslim Indian Ocean archipelago, whose population is under a million but nearly half live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. Known for vanilla and fragrant flow­ers used in luxury perfume, Comoros proclaimed in­dependence in 1975 from France, which is home to a large diaspora. Several op­position figures have urged voters to boycott the ballot, in which five candidates are standing against 65-year-old Assoumani for the top job. Security will be beefed up for voting day and the army is on standby in case of distur­bances but displays of politi­cal protest are rare.