Republic of Mabifia
The Republic of Mabifia is the current government of Mabifia, succeeding the Mabifian Democratic Republic on the latter's dissolution in 1978 at the end of the Second Mabifian Civil War.
Transitional period
The transitional government was quick to dismantle the state apparatus put in place by the old socialist regime. Hassan Babangida's Provisional Unity Government, formed of the heads of the major rebel factions, organised a cabinet and scheduled elections for the following year. The government was able to present a united front for the first months, selecting a new flag and Coat of Arms in order to remove the vestiges of socialist rule, as well as renaming Gollobesare to Ouagedji alongside many other cities which had been renamed during the socialist regime. However, behind the public handshakes and unity, the coalition was extremely fragile. It was composed of several factions, with their ideologies ranging from Pan-Bahianism to Sattarism.
Though Babangida had initially thrown his support behind the Mabifian Patriotic Movement, he had come to see that they were a weaker faction than the more politicised Organisation of Mabifian Irfani Brothers or Pan-Bahian Democratic Party and was worried that, should the provisional government go to an election, he would be in a worse off position. He resolved to begin campaigning before an electoral date had been released, painting himself as the saviour of the Mabifian people. The other two major factions preferred Babangida as the leader of the provisional government than for the other to get it: Babangida had made public remarks about his Irfanic faith and the brotherhood of Bahian peoples, and they initially saw it prudent to stand by and allow Babangida to grandstand his own importance in the war.
In the meanwhile, Babangida began to prepare political changes in the background. The Mabifian Patriotic Movement rebranded itself the Bahian Renaissance Party, and established political offices in Ouagedji and Kangesare. As they began to grow in support, the other factions began to grow worried and pushed for elections. Though Babangida initially resisted, the pressure of Euclean states who remained the major backers of the provisional government insisted upon it and elections were set for June. With the electoral date established, Babangida made an official announcement that he would run as a candidate for the presidency himself, claiming that the other factions would be unable to unite the country. Babangida turned now to the Eucleans, convincing several states that if he was not elected, Mabifia would become a Zorasani client state under the Irfani Brothers. He was able to secure underhand funding, which would grant him a significant advantage in the elections. He also presided over the reopening of vital infrastructure and new developments during the leadup to the elections, sending a clear message to the Mabifian people that he alone was responsible for their success.
The election day came and, as overseen by numerous international observers, Babangida and the BRP gained a comfortable plurality of the vote in the runoff election, which pitted Babangida against Yahya Kanté of the Irfani Brotherhood's Party of the Right Path. Scaremongering about the Irfani Brotherhood's intentions in Sotirian and Badist areas, and Babangida's advantage in funding, helped him to win out in this contest, and he was easily victorious. Babangida began to work at cementing his power from the start, quickly ratifying a new constitution which concentrated power in the hands of the president.
Babangida government
The establishment of a new and estwhile democratic institution did little to calm the Makanian Conflict. Despite Babangida's efforts to declare a ceasefire or co-opt the Makanian resistance, violence in the area escalated. In response, Babangida's long-time friend and aide Mobido Atiku was instructed to help the government's armed effort. He reached out to local communities who had been affected by the violence, eventually forming the coalition of militias which would later be referred to as the Sans-Éclipses. The emergence of the Sans-Éclipses added an additional intercenine element to the already brutal conflict, resulting in major war crime accusations against government-aligned militias. This frustrated several of the government's Euclean backers, who had hoped that democratic reforms would be lasting. While they pulled out some of their direct support to Babangida, they recognised the importance of keeping him on their side. In the 1986 elections Babangida won an outright majority of the presidential votes, while the Bahian Renaissance Party's position in the Senate and National Assembly became more comfortable. Mabifia also joined the International Forum for Developing States in 1987, improving ties with Zorasan.
In order to further consolidate his authority, Babangida reached out to the Mabifian traditional monarchs, customary rulers who still held respect in the eyes of many people. Babangida restored their titles which had been removed by the socialist regime, granting recognised chiefs a governmental stipend and degree of recognition. This secured his party a vast share of the electorate, granting the BRP a landslide in the 1992 elections.
Jolleh-Bande government
By this stage, Babangida had grown old and confided a growing degree of responsibility to his ally Mahmadou Jolleh Bande, who was the presumed successor. Jolleh Bande, a Ndjarendie of an allied Bolonda to that of Babangida, was the premier of the country and renowned as one of the regime's hardliners. In early 1997, two years before the next elections were due, Babangida resigned from the presidency. Jolleh Bande easily won the resulting election, which was widely seen as having been rigged.
Bande continued Babangida's system and policies. He instigated a crackdown in Makania in the 2000s, resulting in some of the heaviest violence in the region for years. His early terms were also marked by an increasingly heavy-handed administration which has not permitted opposition from the press or civil society. Bande won re-elections in 2004 and 2011, which were plagued by reports of violence and irregularities.
In the 2010s, Bande's rule saw a worsening of ethnic tensions within key areas such as the Central Green Belt and Boual ka Bifie, with the conflict between herders and farmers attracting much attention. In 2017, in response to a drop in oil prices which damaged the Mabifian economy, Mabifia was forced to take out a loan from the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs. As a condition, Mabifia was to move a large amount of its agricultural production to the cultivation of cash crops such as coffee and palm oil. In 2018, a dispute surrounding grazing rights resulted in the 2018 Ndamasou massacre, a killing of over 200 Ngombe Sotirians at a church. Mahmadou Jolleh Bande's response was widely criticised as having been too soft, which damaged relations with Euclea and Sotirian nations within Bahia. Under MJB, Mabifia is seen as having drifted far closer to Zorasan than under Babangida's government. In 2019, a drought struck several departments, in what would be the start of a significant food crisis. The government's inability to adequately respond to this crisis has damaged confidence in the regime, which faces several key demographic challenges as a result of a growing population and poor governance.