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.

Electoral history

Following World War II, the Comoros began to elect representatives to the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

, with Saïd Mohamed Cheikh elected from the islands in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

. The following year the islands elected a General Council for the first time. In

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

the Council became the Territorial Assembly, and in 1962 became the Chamber of Deputies. Following independence in the mid-1970s,

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

were held in October 1978, with

Ahmed Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane ( ar, أحمد عبد الله عبد الرحمن, , 12 June 1919 – 26 November 1989) was a Comorian politician. He was a member of the French Senate from 1959 to 1973, and President of the Comoros from 25 Octobe ...

as the sole candidate. In

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in December that year all candidates ran as independents. Shortly before the 1982 parliamentary elections the

Comorian Union for Progress The Comorian Union for Progress ( Comorian: ''Udzima'', lit. ''Unity''; french: Union Comorienne pour le Progrès, UCP) is a political party in the Comoros. History In 1978, French mercenary Bob Denard staged a coup d'etat against the socialist ...

(Uzdima) had been declared the sole legal party, and won 37 of the 38 seats, with the remaining one going to an independent. Abdallah was again the sole candidate in the 1984 presidential elections, whilst the 1987 parliamentary elections saw Uzima win all 42 seats. Multi-party politics was reintroduced in 1990 and

Said Mohamed Djohar Said Mohammed Djohar ( ar, سعيد محمد جوهر 22 August 1918 – 22 February 2006) was a Comorian politician who served as the 4th President of the Comoros from 1989 to 1995. Climb to power Born in Majunga, Madagascar, Djohar was ...

of Udzima won the

that year, beating Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim of the

National Union for Democracy in the Comoros The National Union for Democracy in the Comoros (french: Union Nationale pour la Démocratie aux Comores, UNDC) was a political party in the Comoros. History The UNDC nominated Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim as its candidate for the 1990 presidential ...

in the second round, having finished as runner-up in the first round. The 1992 parliamentary elections produced a fragmented legislature, with 14 parties winning seats and none holding more than seven. Early elections the following year produced a majority for the pro-presidential

Rally for Democracy and Renewal The Rally for Democracy and Renewal (french: Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et le Renouveau, RDR) is a political party in the Comoros. History The RDR was founded in October 1993 by President Said Mohamed Djohar,1996 presidential elections were won by Abdoulkarim, and the

later in the year saw the pro-Abdoulkarim

National Rally for Development The National Rally for Development (french: Rassemblement National pour le Développement, RND) was a political party in the Comoros. History The RND was established on 6 October 1996 as a merger of the National Union for Democracy in the Comoros ...

win 36 of the 43 seats amidst an opposition boycott. As a result of a coup, the next presidential elections were not held until

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, with independent candidate Azali Assoumani elected unopposed in the second round after his opponents boycotted it. However,

in 2004 resulted in a victory for the opposition

Camp of the Autonomous Islands The Camp of the Autonomous Islands (, CdIA) was a political alliance in the Comoros. It advocated for greater autonomy for the three islands and for more power to be given to the islands' governors. History The alliance was formed prior to th ...

. The

2006 presidential elections Presidential elections were held in Bulgaria on 22 October 2006, as decided on 27 July 2006 by the Bulgarian Parliament. The runoff took place on 29 October 2006, while the electoral campaign spanned 19 September – 20 October. At the election, ...

were won by Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. The

in 2009 were won by the Baobab movement supportive of the President.

Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

in 2010 saw

Ikililou Dhoinine Ikililou Dhoinine (, born 14 August 1962) is a Comoros, Comorian politician who was the President of the Comoros from 2011 to 2016; he was a Vice-President of Comoros from 2006 to 2011. Political career Dhoinine won the Comorian presidential elec ...

elected president. The delayed 2015 parliamentary elections produced another fragmented Assembly, with the

Union for the Development of the Comoros The Union for the Development of the Comoros (french: Union pour le Développement des Comores, UPDC; ) is a political alliance in the Comoros. The party's president is Mohamed Halifa. History The UPDC was established in February 2013 as an all ...

emerging as the largest party with eight seats.

Electoral system

President

The President of the Comoros is elected for a five-year term the two-round system. Prior to a 2018 referendum that amended the electoral system, the presidency rotated between the Comoros' three main islands; Anjouan,

Grande Comore 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 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, Comoros, ...

and Mohéli; when it was an island's turn to hold the presidency, the first round was held on that island, with the top three candidates progressing to a nationwide second round.

Assembly of the Union

The 33 seats in the Assembly of the Union are divided into 24 seats directly elected in single-member constituencies using the two-round system, and nine seats elected by the Island assemblies, each of which elect three members.Electoral system
IPU

Referendums

Several referendums have been held in the Comoros. In

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

the islands voted in favour of the new French constitution, which resulted in them becoming part of the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

(rejection would have led to independence). An independence referendum was held in 1974, which resulted in a large majority (95%) in favour of independence. However, one island, Mayotte, voted against referendum, and was subsequently separated from the rest of the Comoros to remain under French control. Following independence, a referendum was held on the continued presidency of Ali Soilih in October 1977; despite a vote in favour, Soilih was overthrown the following May. Following his overthrow, a

constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held, with 99% of voters voting in favour of the new constitution. Further constitutional referendums were held in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

References

External links

Independent National Election Commission

Comoros
Adam Carr's Election Archive

African Elections Database {{Comoros topics