Politics of the Comoros

The politics of the Union of the Comoros take place in a framework of a federal 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.

The first multi-party elections in Comoros were the 1990 presidential election and 1992 parliamentary election.

As of 2008, the Comoros and Mauritania were considered by US-based organization Freedom House as the only real “electoral democracies” of the Arab world. Since then, Comoros has experienced democratic backsliding and is only considered to be partially free, while elections are no longer considered free or fair.

Precolonial and colonial political structures

Sultanates in the late nineteenth century used a cyclic age system and hierarchical lineage membership to provide the foundation for participation in the political process. In the capital, "the sultan was assisted by his ministers and by a madjelis, an advisory council composed of elders, whom he consulted regularly". Apart from local administration, the age system was used to include the population in decision making, depending on the scope of the decision being made.