Mayotte Government Profile 2008

Country name

conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte

Dependency status

departmental collectivity of France

Government type

NA

Capital

name: Mamoudzou
geographic coordinates: 12 46 S, 45 13 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions

none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Independence

none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

National holiday

Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution

4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system

the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by Prefect Jean-Paul KIHL (since 17 January 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Said Omar OILI (since 8 April 2004)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term; next election to be held in 2010

Legislative branch

unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - MDM 23.3%, UMP 22.8%, PS 10.2%, MRC 8.9%, FRAP 6.5%, MPM 1.2%, other 27.1%; seats by party - MDM 6, UMP 9, MRC 2, MPM 1, diverse left 1
note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held in September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - UMP-RPR 55.1%, UDF 44.9%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Ahmed MADI]; Federation of Mahorans or UMP-RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Force of the Rally and the Alliance for Democracy or FRAP; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Mouhoutar SALIM]; Renewed Communist Party of Mayotte or MRC [Omar SIMBA]; Socialist Party or PS [Ibrahim ABUBACAR] (local branch of French Parti Socialiste); Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

International organization participation

InOC, UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US

none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Flag description

unofficial, local flag with the coat of arms of Mayotte centered on a white field, above which the name of the island appears in red capital letters; the main elements of the coat of arms, flanked on either side by a seahorse, appear above a scroll with the motto RA HACHIRI (We are Vigilant); the only official flag is the national flag of France