Following independence in the mid-1970s, presidential elections were held in October 1978, with Ahmed Abdallah as the sole candidate. In parliamentary elections in December that year all candidates ran as independents. Shortly before the 1982 parliamentary elections the Comorian Union for Progress (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.