Politics of

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...

takes place in a framework of a

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

representative democratic French

overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies ...

, whereby the President of the Territorial Assembly is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

, and of a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

is exercised by the government.

Overview

The territory of

is divided into three traditional chiefdoms ('' royaumes coutumiers''):

Uvea The uvea (; Lat. ''uva'', "grape"), also called the ''uveal layer'', ''uveal coat'', ''uveal tract'', ''vascular tunic'' or ''vascular layer'' is the pigmented middle of the three concentric layers that make up an eye. History and etymolog ...

, on the island of Wallis,

Sigave Sigavé (also Singave or Sigave) is one of the three official chiefdoms of the French territory of Wallis and Futuna in Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. (The other two chiefdoms are Uvea and Alo.) Geography Overview Sigave encompasses the wes ...

, on the western part of the island of Futuna, and Alo, on the eastern part of the island of Futuna and the island of Alofi. Uvea is further subdivided into three districts:

Hihifo Hihifo is the main village on the island of Niuatoputapu in the Kingdom of Tonga. Hihifo (which means 'west' in the Tongan language) is situated on the west side of Niuatoputapu and is the main centre for public and government facilities that s ...

Hahake Hakake ( Uvean for "East") is one of the 5 districts of Wallis and Futuna, located in Wallis Island, in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Chiefdom of Uvea. Geography Located in the middle of the island, Hahake borders with the districts of Hih ...

and Mu'a. The capital of the collectivity is Matâ'Utu on the island of Wallis, the most populated island. As an overseas collectivity of France, it is governed under the

French constitution The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a Consti ...

of September 28, 1958, uses both the French legal system and customary local laws (''"coutume"''), and suffrage is universal for those over 18 years of age. The French president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the high administrator is appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly.

Executive branch

The head of state is President Emmanuel Macron of France as represented by Administrator Superior

Thierry Queffelec Thierry Queffelec (born 27 August 1962) is a French senior civil servant, former Administrator of Wallis and Futuna, and current Prefect of French Guiana. Biography Thierry Queffelec was born on 27 August 1962 in Thionville, France. He graduated ...

. The head of government is President of the Territorial Assembly Nivaleta Iloai. The Council of the Territory consists of three kings (kings of the three traditional chiefdoms) and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly.

Legislative branch

The legislative branch consists of the unicameral Territorial Assembly or '' Assemblée territoriale'' of 20 seats; the members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

and one deputy to the French National Assembly. The next election is scheduled for 20 March 2022. With regard to the legal profession, according to a 2017 source, "there are no private lawyers, notaries, or bailiffs in the territory of Wallis and Futuna."

Political parties and elections

Judicial branch

Justice is generally administered under

French law The Law of France refers to the legal system in the French Republic, which is a civil law legal system primarily based on legal codes and statutes, with case law also playing an important role. The most influential of the French legal codes is t ...

by a tribunal of first instance in Matâ'Utu, but the three traditional chiefdoms administer justice according to customary law (''"coutume"'', only for non criminal cases). The court of appeal is in

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...

, New Caledonia.

International relations

Wallis and Futuna participates in the

Franc Zone The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight Wes ...

, and is a member of the

Pacific Community The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, ...

(SPC).

References

{{Wallis and Futuna topics, state=collapsed