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The President of Grande Comore, also known as President of Comoros, is the head of the autonomous government of Grande Comore (Ngazidja), the largest island of the Comoros. The position was established in 2002 following the adoption of the Comorian Constitution of 2001. The president has executive powers as well as three vice presidents. Both the president and the vice presidents hold five-year terms. Each vice presidents represents an island of the Comoros. [1]
Abdou Soulé Elbak, elected in two rounds (12 and 19 May 2002) as an opponent of then-President of the Union Azali Assoumani, served as the island's first president. He took office on 29 May 2002. Elbak attempted to win a second term in office in June 2007, but was defeated in the first round. Mohamed Abdoulwahab, a lawyer and politician, emerged as the winner and took office on 30 June 2007.
In 2009 a referendum passed that reduced the government's size, and replaced the islands' presidents with governors, and extended a presidential term from four to five years. A later referendum replaced the governors with vice presidents in 2018. [2]
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. A member of the Arab League, it is the only country in the Arab world 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 throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.
The Union of the Comoros consists of the three islands Njazidja, Mwali (Moheli) and Nzwani (Anjouan) while the island of Mayotte remains under French administration. 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 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 autonomous 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.
The Assembly of the Autonomous Island of Grande Comore is the island's legislative body.
Mzé Abdou Soulé Elbak was president of the autonomous island of Grande Comore in the Comoros from 2002 to 2007.
Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 16 April and 14 May 2006. As it was the turn of the island of Anjouan to hold the union presidency, a primary election was held in Anjouan on 16 April, prior to a national election on 14 May. The result was a victory for Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, who received 58% of the vote in the national election.
The President of Anjouan is the head of Anjouan, one of the three islands of the Union of Comoros. The position was firstly established in 1997 after the Declaration of independence of Anjouan. Secondly the position became President of the autonomous island of Anjouan following the adoption of the Union of Comoros Constitution of 2001.
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.
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.
The Vice-President of the Comoros was a political position in the Comoros. Vice-Presidents are appointed by the President. From 2002 to 2011, the Presidency and the positions of the two Vice-Presidents were rotated between the three Comoro Islands – Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli. From 2011 to 2019, there were three Vice-Presidents, one from each of the islands in the Union of the Comoros. The positions of Vice-Presidents were abolished as part of the implementation of constitutional referendum held in 2018 in May 2019, instead designating a "main minister" and the governors of the islands as successors to become acting president.
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.
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.
