Editing Politics of the Comoros (section)

== Post-independence ==
{{Main|State of the Comoros}}
At independence there were five main political parties: OUDZIMA, UMMA, the Comoro People's Democratic Rally, the Comoro National Liberation Movement and the Socialist Objective Party.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Mukonoweshuro|first=Eliphas G.|date=1990|title=The Politics of Squalor and Dependency: Chronic Political Instability and Economic Collapse in the Comoro Islands|journal=African Affairs|volume=89|issue=357|pages=555–577|issn=0001-9909|jstor=722174|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098331}}</ref> The political groups previously known simply as the 'green' and 'white' party became the Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Comorien (RDPC) and the Union Démocratique des Comores (UDC),  headed by Sayyid Muhammad Cheikh and Sayyid Ibrahim. Members from both parties later merged to form OUDZIMA under the leadership of first president Ahmad Abdallah while dissidents from both created UMMA under the leadership of future president Ali Soilih.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Islamic Reform in Twentieth-Century Africa|last=Loimeier|first=Roman|date=2016|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-9543-0|jstor=10.3366/j.ctt1g050r6}}</ref>

Prince Said Ibrahim took power in 1970 but was democratically elected out of office in 1972 in favor of former French senator Ahmed Abdallah. President Abdallah declared independence for all islands, except Mayotte which remained under French administration, in 1975. The threat of renewed socioeconomic marginalization following the transfer of the capital to Ngazidja in 1962, more than social or cultural differences, underlay the island's subsequent rejection of independence.<ref name=":1" /> France withdrew all economic and technical support for the now independent state, which would encourage a revolutionary regime under future president Ali Soilih.<ref name=":1" /> French military and financial aid to mercenaries brought Prince Said Mohammed Jaffar to power after the United National Front of the Comoros (FNU) party toppled Abdallah's government. This mercenary coup was unique in that, unlike other coups on the continent, it was "uninspired by any ideological convictions".<ref name=":2" /> The Jaffar regime's inefficient distribution of resources and poor mismanagement was shown through the expulsion of French civil servants as well as endemic unemployment and food shortages. The regime used famine as "an opportunity to switch food patronage from France to the World Food Programme's emergency aid".<ref name=":2" />

President Jaffar's ousting by Minister of Defense and Justice, Ali Soilih, brought about the "periode noire" (dark period) of the country; you could vote at 14, most civil servants were dismissed and there was a ban on some Islamic customs.<ref name=":2" /> He implemented revolutionary social reforms such as replacing French with Shikomoro, burning down the national archives and nationalizing land. His government received support from Egypt, Iraq and Sudan.<ref name=":3" /> Soilih's attacks on religious and customary authority contributed to his eventual ousting through a [[1978 Comorian coup d'état|French-backed coup]] consisting of mercenaries and ex-politicians who together formed the Politico Military Doctorate.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

Abdallah was reinstated and constructed a mercantile state by resuscitating the structures of the colonial era. His establishment of a one party state and intolerance for dissent further alienated civil society from the state.<ref name=":1" /> In May 1978 the Comoros were renamed the Islamic Republic of the Comoros and continued strengthening ties with the Arab world which resulted in their joining the Arab League. Abdallah's government sought to reverse Soilih's 'de-sacralization' by re-introducing the grand marriage, declaring Arabic the second official language behind French, and creating the office of the Grand Mufti.<ref name=":3" /> The doctorate & compromise government was dissolved, constitutional changes removed succession from a politician and neutralized the post of another possible challenger in abolishing the position of Prime Minister, which effectively cemented a client-patron network by making the civil service position dependent on Abdallah's political base. The Democratic Front's (DF) internal opposition to Abdallah was suppressed through the incarceration of over 600 people allegedly involved in a failed coup attempt. Abdallah then stocked the House of Assembly with loyal clientelist supporters through rigged parliamentary elections. All of these actions effectively consolidated Abdallah's position.<ref name=":2" />

Muhammed Djohar succeeded president Abdallah after his assassination in 1989 but was evacuated by French troops after a failed coup attempt in 1996. The Comoros were led by Muhammed Taki Abd al-Karim beginning in 1996 and he was followed by interim president Said Massunde who eventually gave way to Assoumani Azali.<ref name=":1" /> Taki's lack of Arab heritage led to his lack of understanding Nzwani's cultural differences and economic problems, as seen by the establishment of the elders council with only loyal Taki supporters. As a result, the council was ignored by the true elders of the island. After Taki's death, a [[1999 Comorian coup d'état|military coup]] in 1999, the nation's eighteenth since independence in 1975, installed Azali in to power.<ref name=":3" /> Colonel [[Azali Assoumani]] seized power in a bloodless coup in April 1999, overthrowing Interim President [[Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde]], who himself had held the office since the death of democratically elected President [[Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim]] in November, 1998. In May 1999, Azali decreed a constitution that gave him both executive and legislative powers. Bowing somewhat to international criticism, Azali appointed a civilian Prime Minister, [[Bainrifi Tarmidi]], in December 1999; however, Azali retained the mantle of Head of State and army Commander. In December 2000, Azali named a new civilian Prime Minister, [[Hamada Madi]], and formed a new civilian Cabinet. When Azali took power he also pledged to step down in April 2000 and relinquish control to a democratically elected president—a pledge with mixed results. Under Mohammed Taki and Assoumani Azali, access to the state was used to support client networks which led to crumbling infrastructure that cultivated in the islands of Nzwani and Mwali declaring independence only to be stopped by French troops.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> Azali lacked the social obligations required to address the elders and when combined with his gross mismanagement and increasing economic and social dependence on foreign entities, made managing daily life near nonexistent in the state. Therefore, local administrative structures began popping up and drifting away from reliance on the state, funded by remittances from the expatriate community in France.<ref name=":1" />

[[Azali Assoumani]] is a former army officer, first came to power in a coup in 1999. Then he won presidency in [[2002 Comorian presidential election|2002 election]], having power until 2006. After ten years, he was elected again in [[2016 Comorian presidential election|2016 election.]] In March 2019, he was re-elected in the [[2019 Comorian presidential election|elections]] opposition claimed to be full of irregularities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-comoros-elections-idUKKCN1R72F9|title=Comoros president named winner in election rejected by opposition|newspaper=Reuters|date=26 March 2019}}</ref>

Before the 2019 election president Azali Assoumani had arranged a constitutional referendum  in 2018 that approved extending the presidential mandate from one five-year term to two. The opposition had boycotted the [[2018 Comorian constitutional referendum|referendum]].<ref name="boycotted">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/1/21/comoros-presidents-party-wins-poll-boycotted-by-opposition|title=Comoros president's party wins poll boycotted by opposition}}</ref>

In January 2020, his party  [[Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros|The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros]] (CRC) won 20 out of 24 parliamentary seats in the [[2020 Comorian legislative election|parliamentary election]].<ref name="boycotted" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/28540/with-comoros-elections-azali-assoumani-cements-his-authoritarian-rule|title=The Dangers of Assoumani's 'Creeping Authoritarianism' in Comoros|date=14 February 2020 }}</ref>

On 18 February 2023 the Comoros assumed the presidency of the [[African Union]].<ref>{{cite web |title=President Azali Assoumani of the Union of Comoros, Takes Over as the New Chairperson of the African Union (AU) for 2023 {{!}} African Union |url=https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20230218/president-azali-assoumani-union-comoros-takes-over-new-chairperson |website=au.int}}</ref> In January 2024, President Azali Assoumani was re-elected with 63% of the vote in the disputed presidential [[2024 Comorian presidential election|election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Comoros President Azali Assoumani wins fourth term in disputed poll |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68002934 |date=17 January 2024}}</ref>

The Comoros Islands have experienced five different constitutions.<ref name="Countries-2005">{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Federal Countries, 2005|last=NERENBERG|first=KARL|date=2005|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|isbn=978-0-7735-2888-8|jstor = j.ctt809gp}}</ref>