In a separate nod to pressure to restore civilian rule, the government organized several committees to compose a new constitution, including the August 2000 National Congress and November 2000 Tripartite Commission. The opposition parties initially refused to participate in the Tripartite Commission, but on February 17, representatives of the government, the Anjouan separatists, the political opposition, and civil society organizations signed a "Framework Accord for Reconciliation in Comoros," brokered by the Organization for African Unity (OAU). The accord called for the creation of a new Tripartite Commission for National Reconciliation to develop a "New Comorian Entity" with a new constitution. Although the Commission set June as its goal for completing the constitution and December for the national elections, disagreements over procedure and goals delayed completion of the draft constitution. In August representatives from each island debated the first draft; however, the constitution has not yet been implemented.
See also List of Presidents of Comoros.
Country name:
conventional long form:
Union of the Comoros
conventional short form:
Comoros
local long form:
Union des Comores
local short form:
Comores
Data code: CN
Government type: independent republic
Administrative divisions:
three islands; Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali)
note 1:
there are also four municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Moutsamoudou
note 2: The native name of Grande Comore is Ngazidja, but is widely quoted as Njazidja, an erroneous form perpetuated by the CIA Factbook.
Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
Constitution: 20 October 1996
Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President AZALI Assoumani (since 6 May 1999)
head of government:
Prime Minister Bianrifi TARMIDI (since 2 December 1999)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 6 and 16 March 1996 (next to be held NA); prime minister appointed by the president
note:
President AZALI claimed a one-year term at the time of the coup; elections, in theory, should be held in the spring of 2000 but are likely to be dependent on the island of Anjouan remaining part of the federation
election results:
results of the last presidential election before the coup were: Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim elected president; percent of vote - 64.3%
Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (15 seats: five from each island); members selected by regional councils for six-year terms) and a Federal Assembly or Assemblee Federale (43 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - the Federal Assembly was dissolved following the coup of 30 April 1999
elections:
Federal Assembly - last held 1 and 8 December 1996 (next to be held NA)
election results:
Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RND 39, FNJ 3, independent 1
note:
the constitution stipulates that only parties that win six seats in the Federal Assembly (two from each island) are permitted to be in opposition, but if no party accomplishes that, the second most successful party will be in opposition; in the elections of December 1996 the FNJ appeared to qualify as opposition
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supremes, two members appointed by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one by the Council of each island, and former presidents of the republic
Political parties and leaders: Front National pour la Justice or FNJ (Islamic party in opposition) [Ahmed Abdallah MOHAMED, Ahmed ABOUBACAR, Soidiki M'BAPANOZA]; Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND (party of the government) [Ali Bazi SELIM]
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, InOC, Intelsat, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Flag description: green with a white crescent in the center of the field, its points facing downward; there are four white five-pointed stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali, Ngazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros); the design, the most recent of several, is described in the constitution approved by referendum on 7 June 1992