Freedom in the World 2012 - Comoros

2012 Scores

Status: Partly Free
Freedom Rating: 3.5
Civil Liberties: 4
Political Rights: 3

Overview

Former vice president Ikililou Dhoinine was sworn in as president on May 26, 2011, after winning a December 2010 election. An opposition party in September filed a corruption complaint against Dhoinine's predecessor, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, for alleged misuse of public funds while in office.

The Union of the Comoros comprises three islands: Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli. Mayotte, the fourth island of the archipelago, voted to remain under French rule in 1974. Two mercenary invasions and at least 18 other coups have shaken the Comoros since it gained independence from France in 1975. The 1996 presidential election was considered free and fair by international monitors, but Anjouan and Mohéli fell under the control of separatists the following year. A 1999 coup restored order, installing Colonel Azali Assoumani as leader of the country, and led to the signing of a reconciliation agreement. A 2001 referendum approved a new constitution that increased autonomy for the three islands. Azali won the federal presidency in the 2002 election after his two opponents claimed fraud and withdrew. However, Azali supporters captured only 6 of the 33 seats in the 2004 federal legislative elections, and Ahmed Abdallah Sambi – a moderate Islamist preacher and businessman – won the federal presidency in May 2006.

Mohamed Bacar, the president of the island of Anjouan, organized unauthorized elections in 2007 to extend his rule and claimed to have won with 90 percent of the vote. However, in March 2008, an African Union military force removed him from power, and Moussa Toybou, a Sambi supporter, was elected in June 2008.

In a May 2009 referendum, voters approved constitutional reforms that increased the powers of the federal government at the expense of the individual island governments. The reforms instituted a rotation of the federal presidency among the islands every five (previously four) years, downgraded individual island presidents to the status of governors, limited the size of cabinets, empowered the president to dissolve the federal parliament, and allowed the president to rule by decree with the parliament's approval.

In December 2009 legislative elections, the president's supporters – the Baobab coalition – won 19 of the 24 directly elected seats. Sambi's term of office expired in May 2010, but an election to choose his successor was postponed due to political disputes. This delay provoked tension, especially among residents of Mohéli, which was the next island scheduled to hold the office of federal president.

In December 2010, Sambi's protégé, Vice President Ikililou Dhoinine, won the presidential election with 61 percent of the vote. He became the first president of Comoros from Mohéli. His main rival, Mohamed Said Fazul, claimed fraud. However, the national election monitoring group upheld the legitimacy of the election, and Dhoinine was sworn in on May 26, 2011. Opponents alleged that the long transition period, combined with the delayed election, effectively extended Sambi's term by one year.

Large numbers of Comorans illegally emigrate to Mayotte to settle or to seek entry into metropolitan France, and the economy depends heavily on remittances and foreign aid. In 2009, the global economic downturn contributed to delays and suspensions of public-sector salary payments and a decline in public services. These problems continued in 2011; in June, the legislature took action to try to reduce the government's unsustainably high wage burden by reining in civil service salaries.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Comoros is an electoral democracy. Since 1996, Comorans have voted freely in several parliamentary and presidential elections. The unicameral Assembly of the Union consists of 33 members, with 9 selected by the assemblies of the three islands and 24 by direct popular vote; all members serve five-year terms. Prior to the 2009 reforms, 15 seats had been appointed by the islands' assemblies and 18 had been elected. Each of the three islands also has an individual parliament, which is directly elected. Political parties are mainly defined by their positions regarding the division of power between the federal and local governments.

Corruption remains a major problem. There have been reports of corruption at all levels of the government, judiciary, and civil service, as well as among the police and security forces. In September 2011, the opposition Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC), led by former president Azali Assoumani, filed a complaint in a Moroni court against former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi for alleged misuse of public funds while in office; the case was still pending at year's end. Comoros was ranked 143 out of 183 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index.

The constitution and laws provide for freedom of speech and of the press, though self-censorship is reportedly widespread. In March 2011, two journalists were charged with "publishing false news" for articles suggesting that the scheduled May 26 inauguration of President-elect Ikililou Dhoinine could be delayed. The public prosecutor considered these reports "of a nature to trouble public order."

Islam is the state religion, and 99 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim. Tensions have occasionally arisen between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and non-Muslims are reportedly subject to restrictions, detentions, and harassment. Conversion from Islam and non-Muslim proselytizing are illegal. Academic freedom is generally respected.

The government typically upholds freedoms of assembly and association. However, security forces in the past have responded to demonstrations with excessive force. A few human rights and other nongovernmental organizations operate in the country. Workers have the right to bargain collectively and to strike, but collective bargaining is rare. In January 2010, teachers went on strike to protest nonpayment of salaries.

The judicial system is based on both Sharia (Islamic law) and the French legal code, and is subject to influence by the executive branch and other elites. Minor disputes are often settled informally by village elders. Harsh prison conditions include severe overcrowding and inadequate sanitation, medical care, and nutrition.

The law prohibits discrimination based on gender. However, in practice, women enjoy little political representation or economic equality, and they have far fewer opportunities for education and salaried employment than men, especially in rural areas. Sexual violence is believed to be widespread, but is rarely reported to authorities.