Tokelau Government 2008

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau

Dependency status:
self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status

Government type:
NA

Capital:
none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (territory of New Zealand)

Independence:
none (territory of New Zealand)

National holiday:
Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840)

Constitution:
administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970

Legal system:
New Zealand and local statutes

Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Kolouei O'BRIEN (2006); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders)
cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term

Legislative branch:
unicameral General Fono (21 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Nukunonu has six seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Atafu has eight seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held January 2005 (next to be held January 2008)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau

Political parties and leaders:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territory of New Zealand)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of New Zealand)