Comoros' president extends rule after latest poll victory

Comoros' President Azali Assoumani looks on during an interview with Reuters in Paris, France, December 1, 2019. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

MORONI (Reuters) -Comoros' President Azali Assoumani won a fourth five-year term after being declared by the country's electoral body on Tuesday as the winner of Sunday's election in which he contested against five opponents.

Assoumani has been ruling the Indian Ocean archipelago nation since 1999 when he first came to power through a coup. He has since won three elections. Critics accuse his government of cracking down on dissent, which it denies.