The history of the Comoros goes back some 1,500 years. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.
Politics of the Union of the Comoros takes place in a framework of a federal presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.
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% at 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.
Anjouan is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, as of 2006, its population is around 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 square kilometers.
The national flag of the Union of the Comoros was designed in 2001 and officially adopted on January 7, 2002. It continues to display the crescent and four stars, which is a motif that has been in use in slightly various forms since 1975 during the independence movement. In its constitution, the government of the Comoros refers to the insignia as l'emblème national, or the "national emblem", though it is understood to actually represent a flag.
The Comoro Islands or Comoros form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and north-west of Madagascar. The islet of Banc du Geyser and the Glorioso Islands are part of the archipelago. The islands are politically divided between Union of the Comoros and two territories of France : the department of Mayotte and the Glorioso Islands, a part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane was a Comorian politician. He was a member of the French Senate from 1959 to 1973, and President of the Comoros from 25 October 1978 until his death.
The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, and a reef in the Indian Ocean, and have constituted the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) since February 2007. They have never had a permanent population. Two of the islands—Juan de Nova and Europa—and the Bassas da India atoll lie in the Mozambique Channel west of Madagascar, while a third island, Tromelin, lies about 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Madagascar and the Glorioso Islands lies about 200 kilometres (120 mi) northwest of Madagascar. Also in the Mozambique Channel is the Banc du Geyser, a reef under French control claimed by Madagascar since 1976. France and the Comoros view the Banc du Geyser as part of the Glorioso Islands.
Elections in the Comoros take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and the majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Union are directly elected.
The Mayotte national football team represents the French overseas department and region of Mayotte in international football.
The French Republic is a charter member of the United Nations and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The nation originally joined the UN as the Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR) before being succeeded by the French Fourth Republic in 1946, however, after a series of crises, the French Fourth Republic collapsed. A constitutional referendum was held on 28 September 1958; 82.6% voted for constitution for the French Fifth Republic, which succeeded the seat of the former Fourth Republic, including its permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council.
The postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago located on the south-east side of Africa.
This is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, one of the Comoros Archipelago islands located on the south-east side of Africa.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ambanja is a diocese located in the city of Ambanja in the Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Antsiranana in Madagascar. Its episcopal see is the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, which was constructed in 1933.
A referendum on becoming an overseas department of France was held in Mayotte on 29 March 2009. Mayotte had been an overseas collectivity of France since 2003. 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.
An independence referendum was held in the Comoros on 22 December 1974. The overall result was a strong "yes" vote, with 94.57% of voters voting for independence and almost all the "no" votes being cast in Mayotte, where there was a majority for remaining under French control. In contrast, on Mohéli only five out of 6,059 votes were against independence. Voter turnout was 93.3%.
A referendum on becoming an overseas Territory was held in Mayotte on 11 April 1976, after the proposal of remaining part of the Comoros was rejected in a referendum in February. The proposal was rejected by 97.46% of voters, with almost 14,000 of the 17,384 votes being cast as invalid.
Grande-Terre is the main island of the French overseas region of Mayotte. The island is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique.
