Yearbook 2000
Comoros. Over 90% of the population of Anjouan Island, which broke away from the rest of the country in 1997, voted no on January 23 for increased self-government in the Comorian Republic. Diplomatic sources on the main island of Grand Comore claimed that security forces on the outbreak island committed serious harassment in order to drive an election result in their favor. The African unity organization OAU continued its efforts to mediate in the conflict between Anjouan and the federal government in Moroni.
A failed coup attempt was reported to have taken place in March, the nineteenth since 1975. The military junta had promised free elections in April and a transition to civilian rule, but that did not happen. President Azali Assoumani said in August that no elections will be held until the separatists at Anjouan have given up. Later that month, Assoumani and separatist leader Said Abeid Abderemane signed a reconciliation agreement where they agreed to create a “Comorian unit” with common defense and foreign policy. They also agreed to form a committee to write a new constitution.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER: Offers three letter and two letter abbreviations for the country of Comoros. Also covers country profile such as geography, society and economy.
This triggered violent clashes at Anjouan between regime loyalists and militant groups who opposed the agreement. Several hundred people were arrested, and Abdereman’s forces were accused of pushing hard against the opposition.
Population 2000
According to COUNTRYAAH, the population of Comoros in 2000 was 542,246, ranking number 166 in the world. The population growth rate was 2.670% yearly, and the population density was 291.4331 people per km2.
History. – Political tensions in Comoros, a traditionally unstable country, worsened in 2005 due to the presentation of a bill that would have allowed President Azali Assoumani – coming from the island Grande Comore (Njazidja) – to run for a second term, bypassing the constitutional principle of the rotation of the presidency between the three islands of the federation. Withdrawal of the provision, in May 2006 Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, from the island of Anjouan (Nzwani), was elected president – in the second round and with 58% of the votes. Precisely in Anjouan, in 2007, a crisis broke out due to the refusal of the president of the island Mohamed Bacar to leave his office at the end of his mandate. Against the order of the federal authorities, Bacar organized a consultation in June claiming to have been confirmed with 90% of the votes; it was only in March 2008 that he was deposed following an intervention by federal and African Union troops. In May 2009, a constitutional amendment was approved by referendum that increased the powers of the central government and, among other provisions, extended the presidential term from 4 to 5 years, downgraded the presidents of the federation islands to governors and increased the number of deputies directly elected to Parliament (from 18 to 24 out of 33 overall). The latter was renewed with the December 2009 elections, in which pro-presidential candidates won the majority of seats. After the annulment by the Constitutional Court of a provision that would have allowed the extension of Sambi’s mandate, the consultations for the new head of state – which belonged to the iso la Mohéli (Mwali) – were held in December 2010: Ikililou Dhoinine, who took office the following May, won with over 61% of the votes. During his presidency, the country sought to continue along the path of structural reforms, through the adoption of adequate macroeconomic policies and with interventions for fiscal consolidation. In December 2012, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced a reduction of the country’s external debt of $ 176 million. through the adoption of adequate macroeconomic policies and with interventions for fiscal consolidation. In December 2012, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced a reduction of the country’s external debt of $ 176 million. through the adoption of adequate macroeconomic policies and with interventions for fiscal consolidation. In December 2012, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced a reduction of the country’s external debt of $ 176 million.
On a political level, a coup was foiled in April 2013; while in the January-February 2015 legislative elections there was a substantial balance between the number of seats won (8) by the Union pour le développement des Comores – in support of Dhoinine – and those won (7) by the Juwa party of the former president Sambi.