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The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population, and the official state religion, is Sunni Islam. Comoros proclaimed its independence from France on 6 July 1975. The Comoros is the only country of the Arab League which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. It is a member state of the African Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, and the Indian Ocean Commission. The country has three official languages: Shikomori, French and Arabic.
The history of the Comoros extends to about 800–1000 AD when the archipelago was first inhabited. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups and sultanates throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.
The Politics of the Union of the Comoros take place in a framework of a unitary presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The precolonial legacies of the sultanates linger while the political situation in Comoros has been extremely fluid since the country's independence in 1975, subject to the volatility of coups and political insurrection.
Anjouan is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Union of the Comoros. It is known in Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentieth century when the name fell out of general use, in English as Johanna. Historically it was also called Hinzuan or Hanzoan.
Azali Assoumani is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as the President of the Comoros from 2002 to 2006 and again since 2016, except for a brief period in 2019. He became head of state after staging a coup d'état in 1999 and was elected president in 2002, 2016, 2019 and 2024. He also served as Chairperson of the African Union February 2023 to February 2024.
Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is an autonomously-governed island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the smallest of the four major Comoro Islands. Its capital and largest city is Fomboni.
Grande Comore is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital. The island is made up of two shield volcanoes, with Mount Karthala being the country's highest point at 2,361 m (7,746 ft) above sea level. According to the 2009 revision of the constitution of 2002, it is governed by an elected Governor, as are the other islands, with the federal government being much reduced in power. The name Ngazidja is sometimes seen in the now nonstandard form Njazidja.
Elections in the Comoros take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and the majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Union are directly elected.
Sayyid Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi is a Comorian Islamic leader and politician, and former President of Comoros. He is popularly known as 'Ayatollah'. After easily winning the 14 May 2006 presidential election with 58.02% of the national vote, Sambi was inaugurated as President of the Union of the Comoros on 26 May 2006. It was the first peaceful transfer of power in the history of the Comoros.
Among men who can afford it, the preferred form of marriage appears to be polygyny with matrilocal residence. Although possible, the first marriage is formally initiated with the grand marriage when possible, subsequent unions involve much simpler ceremonies. The result is that a man will establish two or even more households and will alternate residence between them, a reflection, most likely, of the trading origins of the Shirazi elite who maintained wives at different trading posts. Said Mohamed Djohar, elected president in 1990, had two wives, one in Njazidja and the other in Nzwani, an arrangement said to have broadened his appeal to voters. For men, divorce is easy, although by custom a divorced wife retains the family home.
The invasion of Anjouan, on March 25, 2008, was an amphibious assault led by the Comoros, backed by African Union (AU) forces, including troops from Sudan, Tanzania, Senegal, along with logistical support from Libya and France. The objective of the invasion was to topple Colonel Mohamed Bacar's leadership in Anjouan, an island in the Union of Comoros, when he refused to step down after a disputed 2007 election, in defiance of the federal government and the AU. The Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean has had a fractious history since its independence from France in 1975, experiencing more than 20 coups or attempted coups.
Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 7 November 2010, with a second round on 26 December, alongside gubernatorial elections for the three main islands. The result was a victory for Ikililou Dhoinine, who received 61% of the vote.
An independence referendum was held in the Comoros on 22 December 1974. The overall result was a strong "yes" vote, with 94.57% of voters voting for independence and almost all the "no" votes being cast in Mayotte, where there was a majority for remaining under French control. In contrast, on Mohéli only five out of 6,059 votes were against independence. Voter turnout was 93.3%.
Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 22 October 1978 following the approval of a new constitution in a referendum earlier in the month. The only candidate was Ahmed Abdallah, who had been President at the time of independence, before being ousted in a coup on 2 August 1975, then reinstated following another on 13 May 1978, since which he had held the post of "Co-Chairman of the Politico-Military Directorate of the Federal and Islamic Republic of Comoros" alongside Mohamed Ahmed. He was elected unopposed.
Ikililou Dhoinine is a Comorian politician who was the President of the Comoros from 2011 to 2016; he was a Vice-President of Comoros from 2006 to 2011.
Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 21 February 2016, with a second round to be held on 10 April 2016, alongside elections for the Governors of the three islands. A re-run of the second round was held in thirteen constituencies on Anjouan on 11 May. Azali Assoumani of the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros was elected President with 41% of the vote.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Comoros on 25 January 2015, alongside local elections. A second round of voting was held on 22 February in the 21 constituencies where no candidate won in the first round. The Union for the Development of the Comoros emerged as the largest party, winning eight of the 24 seats in the Assembly of the Union.
Early presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 24 March 2019 alongside regional elections. A second round would have been held on 21 April if required, but incumbent President Azali Assoumani was re-elected in the first round of voting.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Comoros on 19 January 2020; in constituencies where no candidate received a majority, a second round was held alongside local elections on 23 February. The elections were boycotted by the main opposition parties, including the two largest parties in the outgoing Assembly, the Union for the Development of the Comoros and Juwa Party, in protest at constitutional reform and political repression, The result was a landslide victory for President Azali Assoumani's Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros, which won 20 of the 24 elected seats.
References
- ↑ "Elections in the Comoros". African Elections Database. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
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