Editing Comoros (section)

=== Independence (1975) ===
{{Main|State of the Comoros}}
[[File:Flag of the Comoros (1963–1975).svg|thumb|[[Flag of the Comoros]] (1963–1975)]]
[[File:Flag of the Comoros (1975–1978).svg|thumb|[[Flag of the Comoros]] (1975–1978)]]
[[File:Ikililou Dhoinine 2012.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ikililou Dhoinine]], [[President of the Comoros]] from 2011 to 2016]]
The next 30 years were a period of political turmoil. On 3 August 1975, less than one month after independence, president [[Ahmed Abdallah]] was removed from office in an armed coup and replaced with United National Front of the Comoros (FNUK) member [[Said Mohamed Jaffar]]. Months later, in January 1976, Jaffar was ousted in favour of his Minister of Defence [[Ali Soilihi]].<ref name="Mukonoweshuro:555-577">{{cite journal |title=The Politics of Squalor and Dependency: Chronic Political Instability and Economic Collapse in the Comoro Islands |author=Eliphas G. Mukonoweshuro |journal=African Affairs |volume=89 |issue=357 |date=October 1990 |pages=555–577 |jstor=722174 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098331}}</ref>

The population of [[Mayotte]] voted against independence from France in three referendums during this period. The [[1974 Comorian independence referendum|first]], held on all the islands on 22 December 1974, won 63.8% support for maintaining ties with France on Mayotte; the [[1976 Mahoran status referendum|second]], held in February 1976, confirmed that vote with an overwhelming 99.4%, while the third, in April 1976, confirmed that the people of Mayotte wished to remain a French territory. The three remaining islands, ruled by President Soilihi, instituted a number of socialist and isolationist policies that soon strained relations with France. On 13 May 1978, [[Bob Denard]], once again commissioned by the French intelligence service ([[SDECE]]), returned to [[1978 Comorian coup d'état|overthrow]] President Soilihi and reinstate Abdallah with the support of the French, Rhodesian and South African governments. Ali Soilihi was captured and executed a few weeks later.<ref name="Mukonoweshuro:555-577" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Rhodesian War: A Military History |last1=Moorcraft |first1=Paul L.|author-link1=Paul Moorcraft |last2=McLaughlin |first2=Peter|author-link2=Peter McLaughlin |date=April 2008|orig-year=1982 |place=Barnsley |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]] |isbn=978-1-84415-694-8 |pages=120–121}}</ref>

In contrast to Soilihi, Abdallah's presidency was marked by authoritarian rule and increased adherence to traditional Islam<ref name="Bakar:181-191">{{cite journal |title=Small Island Systems: A Case Study of the Comoro Islands |journal=Comparative Education |author=Abdourahim Said Bakar |volume=24 |issue=2, Special Number (11): Education and Minority Groups |year=1988 |pages=181–191 |doi=10.1080/0305006880240203}}</ref> and the country was renamed the Federal [[Islamic Republic]] of the Comoros (''République Fédérale Islamique des Comores''; جمهورية القمر الإتحادية الإسلامية). Bob Denard served as Abdallah's first advisor; nicknamed the "Viceroy of the Comoros", he was sometimes considered the real strongman of the regime. Very close to South Africa, which financed his "presidential guard", he allowed Paris to circumvent the international embargo on the apartheid regime via Moroni. He also set up from the archipelago a permanent mercenary corps, called upon to intervene at the request of Paris or Pretoria in conflicts in Africa. Abdallah continued as president until 1989 when, fearing a probable coup, he signed a decree ordering the Presidential Guard, led by Bob Denard, to disarm the armed forces. Shortly after the signing of the decree, Abdallah was allegedly shot dead in his office by a disgruntled military officer, though later sources claim an antitank missile was launched into his bedroom and killed him.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mercenary Holding Island Nation Seeks Deal |author=Christopher S. Wren |date=8 December 1989 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/09/world/mercenary-holding-island-nation-seeks-deal.html |access-date=6 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320032602/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/09/world/mercenary-holding-island-nation-seeks-deal.html |archive-date=20 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Although Denard was also injured, it is suspected that Abdallah's killer was a soldier under his command.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mercenaries seek fun and profit in Africa |author=Judith Matloff |newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor |date=6 October 1995 |volume=87 |issue=219 |issn=0882-7729 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1995/1006/06013.html |access-date=24 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024004303/http://www.csmonitor.com/1995/1006/06013.html |archive-date=24 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A few days later, Bob Denard was evacuated to South Africa by French paratroopers. [[Said Mohamed Djohar]], Soilihi's older half-brother, then became president, and served until September 1995, when Bob Denard returned and attempted another coup. This time France intervened with paratroopers and forced Denard to surrender.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 October 1995 |newspaper=The New York Times |title=1,000 French Troops Invade Comoros to Put Down Coup |author=Marlise Simons |id=Section A; Page 10; Column 3 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/05/world/1000-french-troops-invade-comoros-to-put-down-coup.html |access-date=6 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722065731/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/05/world/1000-french-troops-invade-comoros-to-put-down-coup.html |archive-date=22 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=French Mercenary Gives Up in Comoros Coup |date=6 October 1995 |agency=Associated Press |id=Section A; Page 7; Column 1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/06/world/french-mercenary-gives-up-in-comoros-coup.html |access-date=6 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722065736/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/06/world/french-mercenary-gives-up-in-comoros-coup.html |archive-date=22 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The French removed Djohar to Reunion, and the Paris-backed [[Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim]] became president by election. He led the country from 1996, during a time of labour crises, government suppression, and secessionist conflicts, until his death in November 1998. He was succeeded by Interim President [[Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Comoros president dies from heart attack |author=Kamal Eddine Saindou |agency=Associated Press |pages=International News |date=6 November 1998 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-19411384.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328162054/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-19411384.html|url-status=dead |archive-date=28 March 2015}}</ref>

The islands of [[Ndzwani]] and [[Mwali]] declared their independence from the Comoros in 1997, in an attempt to restore French rule. But France rejected their request, leading to bloody confrontations between federal troops and rebels.<ref>{{cite news |title=COMORO ISLANDS: Tension Rising in the Indian Ocean Archipelago |url=http://www.ipsnews.net/1997/09/comoro-islands-tension-rising-in-the-indian-ocean-archipelago/ |author=Moyiga Nduru |publisher=IPS-Inter Press Service/Global Information Network |date=17 September 1997 |access-date=24 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024014506/http://www.ipsnews.net/1997/09/comoro-islands-tension-rising-in-the-indian-ocean-archipelago/ |archive-date=24 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 1999, Colonel [[Azali Assoumani]], Army Chief of Staff, seized power in a [[1999 Comorian coup d'état|bloodless coup]], overthrowing the Interim President Massounde, citing weak leadership in the face of the crisis. This was the Comoros' 18th coup, or attempted coup d'état since independence in 1975.<ref>{{cite news |title=COMOROS: COUP LEADER GIVES REASONS FOR COUP |publisher=BBC Monitoring Africa (Radio France Internationale) |date=1 May 1999}}</ref>

Assoumani failed to consolidate power and reestablish control over the islands, which was the subject of international criticism. The [[African Union]], under the auspices of President [[Thabo Mbeki]] of South Africa, imposed sanctions on Ndzwani to help broker negotiations and effect reconciliation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Breakaway island's ruler says no civilian rule until secession crisis resolved |agency=Associated Press |author=Rodrique Ngowi |date=3 August 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mbeki flies in to Comoros islands summit in bid to resolve political crisis |publisher=Agence France Presse |date=20 December 2003}}</ref> Under the terms of the Fomboni Accords,<ref>{{cite web |title=Accord cadre pour la reconciliation aux Comores (Accord de Fomboni) |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/comoros-accordfomboni2001 |website=UN Peacemaker |language=fr |date=17 February 2001 |access-date=1 May 2024 }}</ref> signed in December 2001 by the leaders of all three islands, the official name of the country was changed to the Union of the Comoros; the new state was to be highly decentralised and the central union government would devolve most powers to the new island governments, each led by a president. The Union president, although elected by national elections, would be chosen in rotation from each of the islands every five years.

Assoumani stepped down in 2002 to run in the democratic election of the President of the Comoros, which he won. Under ongoing international pressure, as a military ruler who had originally come to power by force, and was not always democratic while in office, Assoumani led the Comoros through constitutional changes that enabled new elections.<ref>{{cite news |title=Comoros said "calm" after Azali Assoumani declared elected as federal president |date=10 May 2002 |publisher=BBC Monitoring Africa}}</ref> A ''Loi des compétences'' law was passed in early 2005 that defines the responsibilities of each governmental body, and is in the process of implementation. The elections in 2006 were won by [[Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi]], a Sunni Muslim cleric nicknamed the "Ayatollah" for his time spent studying Islam in Iran. Assoumani honoured the election results, thus allowing the first peaceful and democratic exchange of power for the archipelago.<ref>{{cite news |title=Comoros; Ahmed Abdallah Sambi Set to Win Presidency by a Landslide |date=15 May 2006 |publisher=AllAfrica, Inc. Africa News |author=UN Integrated Regional Information Networks}}</ref>

Colonel [[Mohammed Bacar]], a French-trained former gendarme elected President of Ndzwani in 2001, refused to step down at the end of his five-year mandate. He staged a vote in June 2007 to confirm his leadership that was rejected as illegal by the Comoros federal government and the African Union. On 25 March 2008 hundreds of soldiers from the African Union and the Comoros seized rebel-held Ndzwani, generally welcomed by the population: there have been reports of hundreds, if not thousands, of people tortured during Bacar's tenure.<ref>{{cite web |title=COMOROS: The legacy of a Big Man on a small island |date=10 December 2008 |publisher=[[The New Humanitarian|IRIN]] |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81898 |access-date=25 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220055102/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81898 |archive-date=20 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Some rebels were killed and injured, but there are no official figures. At least 11 civilians were wounded. Some officials were imprisoned. Bacar fled in a speedboat to Mayotte to seek asylum. Anti-French protests followed in the Comoros (see [[2008 invasion of Anjouan]]). Bacar was eventually granted asylum in Benin.

Since independence from France, the Comoros experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups.<ref name=20Coups>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7316177.stm |title=Anti-French protests in Comoros |work=BBC News |date=27 March 2008 |access-date=27 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328234541/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7316177.stm |archive-date=28 March 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Following elections in late 2010, former Vice-president [[Ikililou Dhoinine]] was inaugurated as president on 26 May 2011. Dhoinine is the first President of the Comoros from the island of Mwali. Following the 2016 elections, [[Azali Assoumani]], from Ngazidja, became president for a third term. In 2018 Assoumani held a [[2018 Comorian constitutional referendum|referendum]] on constitutional reform that would permit a president to serve two terms. The amendments passed, although the vote was widely contested and boycotted by the opposition, and in April 2019, and to widespread opposition, Assoumani was [[2019 Comorian presidential election|re-elected]] president to serve the first of potentially two five-year terms.<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 |via=www.reuters.com |access-date=23 March 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415090434/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-comoros-elections-idUKKCN1R72F9 |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2020, the legislative [[2020 Comorian legislative election|elections]] in Comoros were dominated by President Azali Assoumani's party, the [[Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros]], CRC. It took an overwhelming majority in the parliament.<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 |website=worldpoliticsreview.com |date=14 February 2020 |access-date=23 March 2021 |archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301053642/https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/28540/with-comoros-elections-azali-assoumani-cements-his-authoritarian-rule |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2021, Comoros signed and ratified the [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]], making it a nuclear-weapon-free state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Comoros ratifies UN nuclear weapon ban treaty |url=https://www.icanw.org/comoros_ratification |website=ICAN |language=en |access-date=28 July 2022 |archive-date=28 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728222751/https://www.icanw.org/comoros_ratification |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2023, Comoros was invited as a non-member guest to the G7 summit in [[Hiroshima]].<ref>{{cite web |title=G7 Summit 2023: Scrutinizing the Guest List |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/05/g7-summit-2023-scrutinizing-the-guest-list/ |website=thediplomat.com}}</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> In January 2025, the ruling party of president Azali Assoumani won parliamentary [[2025 Comorian parliamentary election|election]], taking 28 out of 33 parliamentary seats. The opposition parties rejected the results.<ref>{{cite news |title=Comoros ruling party wins parliamentary elections.The opposition parties rejected the results.|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/comoros-ruling-party-wins-parliamentary-elections-opposition-rejects-results-2025-01-15/ |access-date=20 February 2025 |work=Reuters |publisher=Reuters}}</ref>