Island in Comoros
Autonomous Island of the Union of the Comoros
Moheli
[m?.e.li]
, also known as
Mwali
,
[2]
is an autonomously-governed island that forms part of the
Union of the Comoros
. It is the smallest
[3]
of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the
Indian Ocean
off the coast of
Africa
and it is the smallest of the four major
Comoro Islands
.
[4]
Its capital and largest city is
Fomboni
.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
Until 1830, Moheli was part of the
Ndzuwani
Sultanate, which also controlled the neighbouring island of
Anjouan
. In 1830, migrants from
Madagascar
led by
Ramanetaka
, who later changed his name to Abderemane, took over the island and established the sultanate of Mwali. In the mid-nineteenth century its ruler was
Queen Jumbe-Souli
. In 1886,
France
made the island a protectorate.
Until 1889, Mwali had its own French
resident
, but the island was then subjugated to the residency of Anjouan. The sultanate was dismantled in 1909 following the French annexation of the island. French colonial stamps bearing the inscription "Moheli" were circulated between 1906 and 1912.
Comoros
[
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]
In 1975, Moheli agreed to join the Comoros nation, along with
Grande Comore
and Anjouan. Political, economic and social turmoil affected Moheli and the Comoros in general.
Independence
[
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]
On 11 August 1997, Moheli seceded from the Comoros, a week after Anjouan. Moheli's secessionist leaders were
Said Mohamed Soefu
who became
president
, and
Soidri Ahmed
, who became
prime minister
.
Rejoining Comoros
[
edit
]
Moheli rejoined Comoros in 1998. In 2002, Moheli ratified the new Comorian constitution, which provided for a less centralized federal government and more power to the island governments. It helped settle continuing political turmoil on Comoros and continuing secessionism on Anjouan. The same year,
Mohamed Said Fazul
was elected president. His supporters won most seats in Moheli's delegation to Parliament in the legislative elections of 2004.
Politics
[
edit
]
Said Mohamed Fazul
was elected
president of Moheli
in 2002 against
Mohamed Hassanaly
.
The
legislative assembly
of the autonomous island of Moheli has ten seats and was elected on March 14 and 21, 2004. Nine seats were won by the supporters of Said Mohamed Fazul and the last by a supporter of
Azali Assoumani
. In 2007,
Mohamed Ali Said
was elected president of the autonomous island of Moheli (currently president instead of governor) against Said Mohamed Fazul.
After shortening his two-year term, which was to end in 2012, due to problems with the
electoral
calendar, Mohamed Ali Said was re-elected governor of the autonomous island of Moheli in December 2010 against the presidential majority
candidate
Said Ali Hilali
. The election of the island's councillors was won by an absolute majority by Mohamed Ali Said's camp.
Following the legislative and communal elections held in 2015, it was
Governor
Mohamed Ali Said's party that won the majority in the island assembly, allying with the councillors (equivalent to deputies at the national level) of those of President Ikililou's supporters and related parties (UPDC party).
In May 2016, following the island governors'
elections
, it was Mohamed Said Fazul who won against President Ikililou's wife (
Hadidja Dhoinine
) in the 5-year governorship elections. It is therefore the second time he takes the reins of the island of Moheli.
As a reminder, at the national level, it is the former president (2002-2006)
Azali Assoumani
who won the elections before
Mohamed Ali Soilih
. This is his second term (2016-2021) as President of the
Union of the Comoros
.
Population
[
edit
]
Moheli's population, as of 2006
[update]
, is about 38,000. Its main ethnic group, as on the other Comoros islands
Grande Comore
and
Anjouan
as well as the French territory
Mayotte
, is the Comorian ethnic group, a synthesis of
Bantu
,
Arab
,
Malay
and
Malagasy culture
, and the main religion is
Sunni Islam
.
Environment
[
edit
]
Protected areas
[
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]
On 19 April 2001, the first protected area in this country –
Moheli Marine Park
– was gazetted.
[6]
This was the culmination of a unique process by which the local communities in the ten villages around the park boundaries negotiated a collaborative arrangement with the government for the establishment and management of the park. The marine park programme was among the 27 finalists selected from nearly 500 nominations by the Equator Initiative, a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (
UNDP
), IUCN, the UN Foundation and four other international groups, to promote community-based initiatives aimed at furthering sustainable development. The marine park was redesignated
Moheli National Park
in 2010, and in 2015 was expanded to include approximately three-quarters of the island's land area.
[7]
Important Bird Area
[
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]
A 6,268 ha tract encompassing the highlands of the interior of the western part of the island, including Mount Mledjele, has been designated an
Important Bird Area
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
because it supports populations of
Comoro olive pigeons
,
Comoro blue pigeons
,
tropical shearwaters
,
Moheli scops owls
,
Malagasy harriers
,
Moheli brush warblers
,
Moheli bulbuls
,
Comoro thrushes
,
Humblot's sunbirds
and
red-headed fodies
.
[8]
Flags
[
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]
Airport
[
edit
]
Moheli Bandar Es Eslam Airport
between the villages of Fomboni and Djoiezi on the north coast of the island is the only airport on Moheli.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
12°15′S
43°45′E
/
12.250°S 43.750°E
/
-12.250; 43.750
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