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→GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS OF COMOROS
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Ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations--Mohamed Toihiri | Ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations--Mohamed Toihiri | ||
Comoros maintains a mission to the United States at 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 418 New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-750-1637). | Comoros maintains a mission to the United States at 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 418 New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-750-1637). | ||
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*Constitutional framework | |||
Under the constitution of 2001, amended in 2009, the three main islands—Ngazidja, Mwali, and Nzwani—form the Union of the Comoros. Executive power of the federal government is vested in the Council of the Union, which comprises a president and three vice presidents. Each council member serves a four-year term and represents one of the three islands, with the office of the federal president rotating between the islands every four years. The president, who serves as head of state, is directly elected in nationwide elections. | |||
The constitutional referendum passed in 2009 included measures to reduce the federal governmental structure, change the island leadership positions of president to governor, and extend the term of the union presidency from four to five years. The union presidency term extension was annulled a year later by the Constitutional Court. | |||
The unicameral legislature consists of the Assembly of the Union; members are elected to five-year terms. Slightly more than half the members are directly elected, with the remainder selected by the islands’ local governments. | |||
In the late 1990s, secessionist movements on the islands of Nzwani and Mwali threatened the stability of Comoros. The individual islands’ desire for greater independence in their own affairs was not provided for under the existing constitution (from 1996) and continued to be the source of much conflict. Changes brought about by the 2001 constitution granted the three main islands partial autonomy, and each elects its own president (later governor) and legislative assembly. The government of each island is free to administer its own affairs so long as its actions do not infringe upon the rights of the other islands or otherwise threaten the state of the union. | |||
*Political process | |||
The 1996 constitution created a multiparty system, but stringent criteria severely limited the number of parties with legal recognition. The 2001 constitution removed these impediments, thus allowing political parties to operate freely. The country has universal suffrage, and women participate in all aspects of the economy. By the 1990s women had become cabinet members and held other positions in various governments. | |||
*Justice and security | |||
The legal system is a combination of French and Islamic law. The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court. Other components include the Higher Council of the Magistracy, which is mandated to aid the president in providing for an independent judiciary, and a Constitutional Court. There is also a High Council, which is concerned with constitutional and electoral matters and rules in conflicts involving the islands and the union. | |||
Comoros maintains a small army. The country also has an agreement with France that provides for a permanent French military presence in Comoros. The agreement was suspended after a military coup in April 1999, but it recommenced in September 2002. | |||
*Health and welfare | |||
Comoros has hospitals on each of the islands but suffers from a shortage of medical personnel, modern facilities, and supplies. Comorians largely depend on traditional medicines and healers. Those who have more-serious health problems and can afford to seek medical assistance do so in either Madagascar or France. While infant mortality has decreased and life expectancy has increased, there are still several growing health concerns. Less than half of the population has access to safe drinking water, and parasitic infestation is prevalent. Other serious illnesses are malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, and, to a lesser extent, leprosy and AIDS. | |||
*Housing | |||
Housing in Comoros varies from two-room structures covered with palm leaves to multilevel buildings made of stone and coral. The part of the house at street level often serves as a shop or warehouse, but in earlier times that level housed slaves or servants. Some Western-style houses, with indoor bathrooms and kitchens, also exist. Because of the practice of matrilocality—a societal custom where the offspring of a family reside with their mother—females often remain part of their mother’s household, even after marriage. This is owing in part to the practice of polygamy, as well as the traditional need for Comorian men to travel away from their communities in search of work. The family home can be expanded, or a separate structure can be built for a woman to inhabit with her children. | |||
*Education | |||
Education is officially compulsory for those between 6 and 16 years of age, but in practice a large percentage of the country’s children receive little or no schooling. Instruction is provided by both traditional Islamic schools, in which the Qurʾān is studied, and state-run schools established by and patterned on the French system. The public school system, however, has been chronically underfunded. There is a university in Moroni. Nearly nine-tenths of the population can read and write Comorian, using Arabic script, though only about half of the population is literate in French, the language of government administration. | |||
==[[Economy_of_comoros|ECONOMY OF COMOROS]]== | ==[[Economy_of_comoros|ECONOMY OF COMOROS]]== | ||