NA)
election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - RND 39, FNJ 3, independent 1
note: the constitution stipulates that only parties that win six seats
in the Federal Assembly (two from each island) are permitted to be in
opposition, but if no party accomplishes that, the second most
successful party will be in opposition; in the elections of December
1996 the FNJ appeared to qualify as opposition

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supremes, two members appointed
by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one by
the Council of each island, and former presidents of the republic

Political parties and leaders: Front National pour la Justice or FNJ
(Islamic party in opposition) [Ahmed Abdallah MOHAMED, Ahmed
ABOUBACAR, Soidiki M'BAPANOZA]; Rassemblement National pour le
Development or RND (party of the government)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
CCC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS
(associate), ILO, IMF, InOC, Intelsat, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Ahmed DJABIR (ambassador to the
US and Canada and permanent representative to the UN)
chancery: (temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Federal and
Islamic Republic of the Comoros to the United Nations, 420 East 50th
Street, New York, NY 10022
telephone: (212) 983-4712

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Comoros; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Comoros

Flag description: green with a white crescent in the center of the
field, its points facing downward; there are four white five-pointed
stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the
crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the
four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali,
Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of France,
but claimed by Comoros); the design, the most recent of several, is
described in the constitution approved by referendum on 7 June 1992

@Comoros:Economy

Economy - overview: One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is
made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a
young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources.
The low educational level of the la