 Country name:
conventional long form: Union of the Comoros conventional short form:Comoros local long form:Udzima wa Komori (Comorian); Union des Comores (French); Jumhuriyat al Qamar al Muttahidah (Arabic) local short form:Komori (Comorian); Comores (French); Juzur al Qamar (Arabic)
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name:Moronigeographic coordinates:11 42 S, 43 14 E time difference:UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
3 islands and 4 municipalities*; Anjouan (Ndzuwani), Domoni*, Fomboni*, Grande Comore (N'gazidja), Moheli (Mwali), Moroni*, Moutsamoudou*
Independence:
6 July 1975 (from France)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
Constitution:
previous 1996; latest ratified 23 December 2001; amended 2009 and 2014 (2014)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of Islamic religious law, the French civil code of 1975, and customary law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:President Ikililou DHOININE (since 26 May 2011)head of government:President Ikililou DHOININE (since 26 May 2011) cabinet:Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections:as defined by the 2001 constitution, the presidency rotates every four years among the elected presidents from the three main islands in the Union; election last held on 7 November and 26 December 2010 (next to be held in 2015) election results:Ikililou DHOININE elected president; percent of vote - Ikililou DHOININE 61.1%, Mohamed Said FAZUL 32.7%, Abdou DJABIR 6.2%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly of the Union (33 seats; 15 deputies are selected by the individual islands' local assemblies and 18 by universal suffrage to serve for five years);elections:last held on 6 and 20 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014) election results:percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - pro-union coalition 19, autonomous coalition 4, independents 1; note - 9 additional seats are filled by deputies from local island assemblies
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 7 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 8 members)judge selection and term of office:Supreme Court judges selected - 2 by the president of the Union, 2 by the Assembly of the Union, and 1 each by the 3 island councils; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Court members appointed - 1 by the president, 1 each by the 3 vice presidents, 1 by the Assembly, and 1 each by the island executives; all members serve 6-year renewable terms subordinate courts:Court of Appeals (in Moroni); Tribunal de premiere; island village (community) courts; religious courts
| | Political parties and leaders:
Camp of the Autonomous Islands or CdIA (a coalition of parties organized by the islands' presidents in opposition to the Union President)Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros or CRC [AZALI Assowmani] Front National pour la Justice or FNJ [Ahmed RACHID] (Islamic party in opposition) Mouvement pour la Democratie et le Progress or MDP-NGDC [Abbas DJOUSSOUF] Parti Comorien pour la Democratie et le Progress or PCDP [Ali MROUDJAE] Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND [Omar TAMOU, Abdoulhamid AFFRAITANE]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Camp of the Autonomous Islands or CdIA (a coalition of parties organized by the islands' presidents in opposition to the Union President)Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros or CRC [AZALI Assowmani] Front National pour la Justice or FNJ [Ahmed RACHID] (Islamic party in opposition) Mouvement pour la Democratie et le Progress or MDP-NGDC [Abbas DJOUSSOUF] Parti Comorien pour la Democratie et le Progress or PCDP [Ali MROUDJAE] Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND [Omar TAMOU, Abdoulhamid AFFRAITANE]
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AMF, AOSIS, AU, CAEU (candidates), COMESA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador Roubani KAAMBI (since 6 September 2012); note - also serves as Permanent Representative to the UNchancery:Mission to the US, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 418, New York, NY 10017 telephone:[1] (212) 750-1637 FAX:[1] (212) 750-1657
Diplomatic representation from the US:
note:the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
National symbol(s):
four stars and crescent
National anthem:
name:'Udzima wa ya Masiwa' (The Union of the Great Islands)
lyrics/music:Said Hachim SIDI ABDEREMANE/Said Hachim SIDI ABDEREMANE and Kamildine ABDALLAH note:adopted 1978 |