19 December 2001

Moroni, Comoros: Nine UN Volunteers are currently in the Comoro islands off the coast of Africa to help prepare for a constitutional referendum on 23 December.

Under an agreement between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union (EU), the UN Volunteers programme (UNV) recruited a computer database expert, two voter registration experts, one civic education specialist, two election specialists and three long-term electoral observers.

The UN Volunteers -- from Mali, Guinea, Romania, Rwanda, France, Spain and Belgium -- are supporting efforts to update voter registers, supervise the proper functioning of registration centres and organize civic education campaigns.

As part of the UNDP-EU project with the general objective of restoring constitutional order and governance through a democratic process, 25 UNV short-term observers are to be deployed ahead of presidential elections to be held next year.

At Sunday's referendum, Comorans will be asked to approve an amended basic law under which the Indian Ocean archipelago's three islands will have greater autonomy. The referendum will be held under an accord reached in February among military leaders in Moroni and Anjouan as well as the opposition.

Comoros has experienced political instability since independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the island of Anjouan unilaterally declared its independence in the hope of rejoining France.