Politics of New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a French sui generis collectivity with a system of government based on parliamentarism and representative democracy. The President of the Government is the head of government, and there is a multi-party system, with Executive power being exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of New Caledonia. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

New Caledonia
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
New Caledonia
Republic of France
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
France
Republic
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Administrative divisions
Elections
Foreign relations
  • Ministry of Foreign and
    European Affairs
Related topics
 France portal

Political developments

Article 77 of the Constitution of France and the Organic Law 99-209 confers a unique status on New Caledonia between that of an independent country and a regular collectivité d'outre-mer or overseas collectivité of France. A territorial congress and government have been established, and the 1998 Nouméa Accord organized a devolution of powers. Key areas such as taxation, labor law, health and hygiene and foreign trade are already in the hands of the Congress. Further powers will supposedly be given to the Congress in the near future.

Under article 4 of the Organic Law 99-209 a New Caledonian "citizenship" has also been introduced: only New Caledonian "citizens" (defined by article 188) have the right to vote in the local elections. This measure has been criticized, because it creates a second-class status for French citizens living in New Caledonia who do not possess New Caledonian "citizenship" (because they settled in the territory recently). New Caledonia is also allowed to engage in international cooperation with independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. Finally, the territorial Congress is allowed to pass statutes that are contrary to French law in a certain number of areas.

On the other hand, New Caledonia remains an integral part of the French Republic. Inhabitants of New Caledonia are French citizens and carry French passports. They take part in the legislative and presidential French elections. New Caledonia sends two representatives to the French National Assembly and two senators to the French Senate. The representative of the French central state in New Caledonia is the High Commissioner of the Republic (Haut-Commissaire de la République, locally known as "haussaire"), who is the head of civil services, and who sits in the government of the territory.

The Nouméa Accord stipulates that the Congress will have the right to call for a referendum on independence after 2014, at a time of its choosing. Following the timeline set by the Nouméa Accord, the groundwork was laid for a Referendum on full independence from France at a meeting chaired by the French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on 2 November 2017, with the referendum to be held by November 2018. Voter list eligibility had been a subject of a long dispute, but the details have were resolved at this meeting.[1] In the 2018 referendum, voters narrowly chose to remain a part of France.

The current president of the government elected by the Congress is Thierry Santa, from the loyalist (i.e. anti-independence) The Rally political party.

Executive branch
Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
High Commissioner Laurent Prévost 5 August 2019
President of the Government Thierry Santa The Rally 6 July 2019

The high commissioner is appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior. The president of the government is elected by the members of the Territorial Congress.

Legislative branch

The Congress (Congrès) has 54 members, being the members of the three regional councils, all elected for a five-year term by proportional representation. Furthermore, there is a 16-member Kanak Customary Senate (two members from each of the eight customary aires).

Political parties and elections
For other political parties, see List of political parties in New Caledonia. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in New Caledonia.
 Summary of the 11 May 2014
Territorial Congress of New Caledonia election results
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Caledonia Together24,86323.3113+8
The Rally–UMP (Front for Unity)13,64912.797–6
Caledonian Union–FLINKS13,60212.759–
Union for Caledonia in France12,53911.756New
Build Our Rainbow Nation12,28911.526New
National Union for Independence8,8768.326–
Labour Party3,6783.451–2
National Front2,7062.5400
One Province for All (in coalition with Caledonia Together)2,5612.402New
North Province Agreement (in coalition with Front for Unity)2,1912.051New
Convergence Country2,1902.050New
Party of Kanak Liberation2,0531.921–
Aboriginal Dynamic1,5661.471New
Union for Building the Loyalty Islands1,5641.471New
The Other Voice9390.880New
Invalid/blank votes1,410–––
Total106,650100540
Registered voters/turnout152,45769.95––
Source: New Caledonia Government

French National Assembly

French Senate

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court

Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of New Caledonia

New Caledonia is divided into three provinces: Province des Îles, Province Nord, and Province Sud - which are further subdivided into 33 communes.

International organization participation

See also

References
  1. http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2017/11/03/referendum-d-autodetermination-en-nouvelle-caledonie-un-accord-politique-trouve_5209433_823448.html

French
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.