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)
etymology: name derives from the Arabic designation "Juzur al Qamar" meaning "Islands of the Moon"
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Moroni
geographic 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, 2014 (2015)
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
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Comoros
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ikililou DHOININE (since 26 May 2011); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ikililou DHOININE (since 26 May 2011)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections/appointments: presidency rotates every 4 years among the elected presidents of the Union's 3 main islands; Union president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed (first round by the island voters only; second round by simple majority vote of all island voters; 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 in second round - Ikililou DHOININE 61.1%, Mohamed Said FAZUL 32.7%, Abdou DJABIR 6.2%
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Assembly of the Union (33 seats; 24 members elected by absolute majority vote in two rounds if needed and 9 members indirectly selected by island assemblies; members serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held on 25 January and 22 February 2015 (next to be held in 2020)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UPDC 8, PJ 7, RDC 2, CRC 2, RADHI 1, PEC 1, independents 3; note - in addition 9 seats will be filled by nominations from the 3 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 - 2 selected 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 instance; island village (community) courts; religious courts
Political parties and leaders:
Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros or CRC [AZALI Assoumani]
Democratic Rally of the Comoros or RDC [Mouigni BARAKA]
Juwa Party or PJ [Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI]
Party for the Comorian Agreement (Partie Pour l'Entente Commorienne) or PEC [Fahmi Said IBRAHIM]
Rally for an Alternative of Harmonious and Integrated Development or RADHI [Abdou SOEFO]
Rally with a Development Intiiative for Enlightened Youth or RIDJA [Said Larifou]
Union for the Development of the Comoros or UPDC [Mohamed HALIFA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Federation Comorienne des Consomateurs or FCC [Mohamed Said Abdallah MCHANGANA]
Mouvement des Entreprises comorienne or MODEC [Faharate HOUSSEIN]
Union des Chambres de Commerce et de l'Industrie et de l'Agriculture or UCCIA [Fahmy THABIT]
Confederation des Travailleurs Comoriens or CTC
other: environmentalists
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AMF, AOSIS, AU, CAEU (candidates), COMESA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed SOILIH (since 18 November 2014)
chancery: 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:
the US does not have an embassy in Comoros; the ambassador to Madagascar is accredited to Comoros
Flag description:
four equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), white, red, and blue, with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist; centered within the triangle is a white crescent with the convex side facing the hoist and four white, five-pointed stars placed vertically in a line between the points of the crescent; the horizontal bands and the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali, N'gazidja, Ndzuwani, and Mahore (Mayotte - department of France, but claimed by Comoros)
note: the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
National symbol(s):
four stars and crescent; national colors: green, white
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
NOTE: The information regarding Comoros on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Comoros Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Comoros Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
- Main Index
- 2016 Index
- Country Ranks
- Definitions
- Comoros Index 2016
- Comoros Main Index
- Introduction
- History
- Geography
- Military
- Transnational Issues
- Photos
- Advertise Here
- Feedback
- Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites).
- If you wish to link to this page, you can do so by referring to the URL address below this line.
https://allcountries.org/world_fact_book_2016/comoros/comoros_government.html
This page was last modified 27-Apr-16