Tokelau Government Profile 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: Pio TUIA (since 23 February 2008); 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: 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 (20 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Atafu has seven seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Nukunonu has six seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held 17-19 January 2008 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: independents 20

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)

Flag description

the flag of New Zealand is used