The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population, and the official state religion, is Sunni Islam. Comoros proclaimed its independence from France on 6 July 1975. The Comoros is the only country of the Arab League which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. It is a member state of the African Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, and the Indian Ocean Commission. The country has three official languages: Shikomori, French and Arabic.
Mayotte, officially the Department of Mayotte, is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the overseas departments of France as well as one of the 18 regions of France, with the same status as the departments of Metropolitan France. It is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, part of the eurozone.
The politics of Mayotte takes place in a framework of a French overseas region and department, until 2011 an overseas collectivity. Local politics takes place in a parliamentary representative democratic setting whereby the President of the General Council is the head of government, of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. The status of Mayotte changed in 2001 towards one very close to the status of the départements of mainland France, with the particular designation of collectivité départementale, although the island is still claimed by the Comoros. This change was approved by 73% in a referendum on Mayotte. After the constitutional reform of 2003 it became a collectivité d'outre-mer while keeping the title collectivité départementale de Mayotte. Mayotte became an overseas department of France on 31 March 2011 following the result of the March 2009 Mahoran status referendum, which was overwhelmingly approved by around 95% of voters.
Réunion is an overseas département of France.
In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government under the national level, between the administrative regions and the communes. There are ninety-six departments in metropolitan France, with an additional five overseas departments, which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 333 arrondissements and 2,054 cantons. These last two levels of government have no political autonomy, instead serving as the administrative basis for the local organisation of police, fire departments as well as, in certain cases, elections.
The overseas departments and regions of France are departments of the French Republic which are outside the continental Europe situated portion of France, known as "metropolitan France". The distant parts have exactly the same status as mainland France's regions and departments. The French Constitution provides that, in general, French laws and regulations apply to French overseas regions the same as in metropolitan France, but can be adapted as needed to suit the region's particular needs. Hence, the local administrations of French overseas regions cannot themselves pass new laws. On occasion referendums are undertaken to re-assess the sentiment in local status.
The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte belongs to France.
A territorial collectivity, or territorial authority, in many francophone countries, is a legal entity governed by public law that exercises within its territory certain powers devolved to it by the State as part of a decentralization process. In France, it also refers to a chartered administrative division of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any territory with an elective form of local government and local regulatory authority. The nature of a French territorial collectivity is set forth in Article 72 of the Constitution of France (1958), which provides for local autonomy within limits prescribed by law.
The French overseas collectivities are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies and other French overseas entities with a particular status, all of which became COMs by constitutional reform on 28 March 2003. The COMs differ from overseas regions and overseas departments, which have the same status as metropolitan France but are located outside Europe. As integral parts of France, overseas collectivities are represented in the National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council. Though some are outside the European Union, all can vote to elect members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The Pacific COMs use the CFP franc, a currency pegged to the euro, whereas the Atlantic COMs use the euro itself. As of 31 March 2011, there were six COMs:
The Departmental Council of Mayotte is the local authority overseeing the Department of Mayotte. The legislative branch is composed of the council itself acting as a deliberative assembly, while the executive is composed of the President of the Council and their Vice-Presidents. The members of the council, known as Departmental Councillors and 26 in number, are directly elected for a 6-year term in single seat constituencies; half of the seats are renewed every 3 years. It also exercises the responsibilities of a regional council.
The official flag of Mayotte is the flag of France. The coat of arms of Mayotte is well defined and was adopted by the predecessor entity of the Department of Mayotte in 1982.
A referendum on becoming an overseas department of France was held in Mayotte on 29 March 2009. Mayotte had been a departmental collectivity of France since 2001. In contrast to the four other similar regions, Mayotte would not have become an Overseas Department (DOM) or an Overseas Region (ROM), but would only have had a single assembly; the four other existing DOM/ROM will have the option of changing their status to this format as well.
Overseas France consists of 13 French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most, but not all are part of the European Union.
The politics of France take place within the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic". The constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims France's "attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of National Sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789".
Mohamad Norza Zakaria is a Malaysian sports administrator, chartered accountant, and corporate leader. Recognized for his influential roles in sports and corporate governance, Norza has been a driving force in transforming the sports landscape in Malaysia. Currently, he serves as the President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), President of the Commonwealth Games Association of Malaysia, and Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for Southeast Asia. A Fellow Certified Practicing Accountant (FCPA) with CPA Australia and a Chartered Accountant (CA) with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).
Miss Mayotte is a French beauty pageant which selects a representative for the Miss France national competition from the overseas region of Mayotte. The competition was first held in 2000.
