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: 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*; Grande Comore (N'gazidja), Anjouan (Ndzuwani), Domoni*, Fomboni*, Moheli (Mwali), Moroni*, Moutsamoudou*
Independence:
6 July 1975 (from France)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
Constitution:
23 December 2001
Legal system:
French and Islamic law in a new consolidated code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: Legislative branch: Judicial branch: Political parties and leaders: Political pressure groups and leaders: International organization participation: Diplomatic representation in the US: Diplomatic representation from the US: Flag description: National anthem:
chief of state: President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006)
head of government:
President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president
(For more information visit the )
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 14 May 2006 (next to be held on 7 November 2010)
election results:
Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI elected president; percent of vote - Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI 58.0%, Ibrahim HALIDI 28.3%, Mohamed DJAANFAMI 13.7%
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
Supreme Court or Cour Supremes (two members appointed by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one elected by the Council of each island, and others are former presidents of the republic)
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]
other: environmentalists
ACP, AfDB, AMF, AOSIS, AU, COMESA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
chief of mission: Representative to the UN and Ambassador to the US Mohamed TOIHIRI
chancery:
Mission to the US, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 418, New York, NY 10017
telephone:
[1] (212) 750-1637
the US does not have an embassy in Comoros; the ambassador to Madagascar is accredited to Comoros
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, Nzwani, and Mahore (Mayotte - territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros)
note:
the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
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