The Comoros will hold presidential elections in December, an official said Monday, moving to end a political standoff that has threatened the unity of the troubled Indian Ocean archipelago.
Riots erupted earlier this year on Moheli island after President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi's term, which was to expire in May, was extended by 18 months.
The Union of Comoros is made up of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli isles. Sambi, who is from Anjouan, had been due to hand over power to a leader from Moheli under a rotating presidency system.
Lawmakers and councillors from the three isles agreed to hold presidential primaries in Moheli on November 7 along with those of governors of the islands following a consultative meeting at the weekend.
The presidential election and the second round of governors' elections will be held on December 26.
Ntole Kazadi who represented the International Organisation of Francophone countries voiced optimism over the new deal, but was concerned about poll organisation.
"My worries are about the technical aspects. The organisation of the electoral commission, the financing," Kazadi told AFP.
Sambi's election in 2006 was the first peaceful handover of power in the Comoros which has been plagued by 19 coups and coup attempts since independence from France in 1975.
