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Comoros

Monthly Event Reports

January 2024 | Azali Assoumani re-elected in presidential election
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Comoros held elections for the national presidency and the governors of the three largest islands on 14 January. The Independent National Election Commission (Commission Electoral National Independante, CENI) reported that the incumbent president Azali Assoumani won re-election in the first round, receiving 62.97 per cent of the valid votes. CENI reported presidential election turnout to be 16.30 per cent, while turnout in the gubernatorial elections varied between 39.13 per cent and 69.56 per cent. There were six candidates for president, all of whom are men. There was only one woman among the 26 candidates for governor: Chamina Ben Mohamed who won the governorship of Mohéli. A joint election observation mission from the African Union and Eastern African Standby Force noted political tensions during the early part of the electoral process but described elections as taking place in a peaceful atmosphere, and found few logistical or procedural problems in the management of the election. Opposition candidates’ legal challenges to the election were dismissed by the Supreme Court. The Court released revised figures for the election, finding that President Assoumani received 57.2 per cent of the votes, with turnout much higher than reported by the CENI at 56 per cent. This would be slightly up from the last presidential election in 2019 which had 53 per cent turnout.

November 2022 | Former President Sambi convicted of ‘high treason’

On 28 November Comoros’ State Security Court sentenced the country’s former President, Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, to life in prison, after convicting him of ‘high treason’ for his role in a corrupt passport sale scheme. The scheme, which was purportedly established to fund development in Comoros, was found by a parliamentary commission to be illegal and its revenues to have been embezzled. The commission suspected Sambi and his successor, former President Lkiliou Dhoinine, to be responsible for the embezzlement. According to the prosecution, Sambi embezzled $1.8 billion (USD). Official corruption convictions are rare in Comoros, and some, including the human rights NGO Alkarama, have suggested that there was political interference in the legal proceedings brought against Sambi, who is a political rival of serving President Azali Assoumani. Such concerns make it difficult to determine whether Sambi’s conviction signals improved accountability for official corruption in Comoros or a deterioration in judicial independence and access to justice.

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
888 460
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Azali Assoumani (since 2019)
Head of government party
Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Two-Round System
Women in lower or single chamber
16.7%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2020
Head of state
President Azali Assoumani
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
25/01/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
93.22%
Population Tooltip
888 460
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Azali Assoumani (since 2019)
Head of government party
Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Two-Round System
Women in lower or single chamber
16.7%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2020
Head of state
President Azali Assoumani
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
25/01/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
93.22%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Signatory
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Signatory
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
Signatory
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
Arab Charter on Human Rights
No Action
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

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Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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