Eager and ambitious, the son of Comoros President Azali Assoumani embodies all the qualities of a future leader.
As the ruling party of the small archipelago in the Indian Ocean gathered to appoint a new secretary general over the weekend, many anticipated that Nour El Fath Azali, aged 39, would secure the top position.
Azali himself, currently serving as a private adviser to his father, appeared receptive to taking on a more prominent role.
“If the party calls upon me, I will honor its decision,” Azali conveyed to AFP during the event in the capital city of Moroni. He was dressed in a white shirt and a blue cap featuring the emblem of the ruling party.
However, the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) ultimately reappointed the incumbent secretary, Youssoufa Mohamed Ali, a seasoned politician.
With his father eyeing an extension of his presidency for an additional five-year term after the upcoming elections next year, some speculate that Azali’s potential ascension may have only been delayed.
In recent times, Azali, who describes himself as a “perfectionist,” has been increasingly visible in the public sphere. This visibility has grown since his father, who currently leads the African Union, secured a controversial victory in the 2019 election.
Functioning as a presidential adviser, Azali frequently appears alongside ministers in televised press conferences. Notably, he played a significant role in organizing the CRC’s congress at a Moroni hotel, where he was notably active.
Given the Comoros’s tumultuous history and concerns raised by critics regarding Assoumani’s autocratic tendencies, many speculate that Azali is being groomed to assume leadership of the small nation, which has a population of less than a million.
“Seeing young people embrace politics is my dearest wish,” stated government spokesperson Houmed Msaidie, seemingly voicing support for such a scenario.
“Nour El Fath Azali is an authentic leader and visionary,” declared Soilihi Mohamed Djounaid, a prominent CRC member who also heads a state-owned energy company.
Assoumani, aged 64 and a former chief-of-staff of the military, seized power in a coup in 1999. After a period of political retirement from 2006, he made a resounding return a decade later, securing victory in an election marred by violence and allegations of irregularities.
In 2019, he orchestrated another round of elections after persuading Comorans to vote in a contentious referendum supporting the extension of presidential term limits from one five-year term to two.
It was during this period that Nour El Fath Azali, a reserved father of three who holds an MBA in international finance earned in the United States and previously worked in banking, emerged from relative obscurity.
However, Azali’s ascent has garnered mixed reactions.
An anonymous source within the CRC criticized Azali as “arrogant,” accusing him of employing an unforgiving approach in his pursuit of power.
“He’s employing a scorched-earth strategy, attempting to remove his father’s supporters from the political landscape,” the source claimed.
“The CRC is like a paper tiger, grappling with deep internal divisions. This is concerning, particularly with only a few months remaining until the presidential election.”
Achmet Said Mohamed, a presidential candidate in 2019 who recently returned to the Comoros following four years of self-imposed exile, interpreted Azali’s rise as indicative of the state of democracy in the country.
“He’s simply benefiting from the privileged position of his dictatorial father. This phenomenon is quite common in all dictatorships,” he remarked.
Assoumani is widely expected to seek re-election next year, with the initial round of voting scheduled for January.
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