Politics of New Caledonia
Encyclopedia
New Caledonia
is an French overseas country 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.
of France. On the one hand, a Congress and a government have been established, and a devolution of powers is organized by the 1998 Nouméa Accord
. Key areas such as taxation, labor law, health and hygiene and foreign trade are already in the hands of the Congress. Further competence will supposedly be given to the Congress in the near future.
A New Caledonian "citizenship" has also been introduced: only New Caledonian "citizens" 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 derogatory 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 one senator 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.
It was decided in the Nouméa Accord that the Congress will have the right to call for a referendum
on independence
after 2014, at a time of its choosing.
The current president of the government elected by the Congress is Harold Martin
, from the loyalist (i.e. anti-independence) "Future Together
" party (l'Avenir Ensemble), which toppled the long-time ruling Rally for Caledonia in the Republic
(RPCR) in May 2004. "Future Together" is a party of mostly Caucasian and Polynesian New Caledonians opposed to independence but tired of the hegemonic and allegedly corrupt anti-independence RPCR. Their toppling of the RPCR (that was until then seen as the only voice of New Caledonian whites) was a surprise to many, and a sign that the society of New Caledonia is undergoing changes. "Future together", as the name implies, is opposed to a racial vision of New Caledonian society, opposing Melanesians
native inhabitants and European settlers, and is in favor of a multicultural New Caledonia, better reflecting the existence of large populations of Polynesians, Indonesians, Chinese, and other immigrants. Some members of "Future Together" are even in favor of greater autonomy or even independence, though not necessarily on the same basis as the Melanesian independence parties which seek full independence for New Caledonia.
|Yves Dassonville
|
|25 October 2007
|-
|President of the Government
|Harold Martin
|AE
|11 March 2011
|}
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.
. Furthermore there is a 16 member Kanak Customary Senate (two members from each of the eight customary aires).
: Province des Îles, Province Nord, and Province Sud - which are further subdivided into 33 communes
.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
is an French overseas country with a system of government based on parliamentarism
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
and representative democracy
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
. The President of the Government is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and there is a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
, with Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
being exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and the Congress of New Caledonia. The judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Political developments
The unique status of New Caledonia is in between that of an independent country and a regular overseas collectivitéCollectivité d'outre-mer
The French overseas collectivities , like the French regions are first-order administrative divisions of France. The COMs include some former French overseas territories and other French overseas entities with a particular status, all of which became COMs by constitutional reform on 28 March...
of France. On the one hand, a Congress and a government have been established, and a devolution of powers is organized by the 1998 Nouméa Accord
Nouméa Accord
The Nouméa Accord of 1998 promises to grant political power to New Caledonia and its original population, the Kanaks, until the territory decides whether to remain within the French Republic or become an independent state in a referendum to be held between 2014 and 2019...
. Key areas such as taxation, labor law, health and hygiene and foreign trade are already in the hands of the Congress. Further competence will supposedly be given to the Congress in the near future.
A New Caledonian "citizenship" has also been introduced: only New Caledonian "citizens" 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
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Finally, the territorial Congress is allowed to pass statutes that are derogatory 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
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
and one senator to the French Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
. 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.
It was decided in the Nouméa Accord that the Congress will have the right to call for a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
after 2014, at a time of its choosing.
The current president of the government elected by the Congress is Harold Martin
Harold Martin (politician)
Harold Martin is a New Caledonian politician, President of the Government of New Caledonia and, since May 22, 2009, President of the Congress of New Caledonia...
, from the loyalist (i.e. anti-independence) "Future Together
Future Together
The Future Together is a center-right political party in New Caledonia supporting the maintenance of political and administrative ties with France....
" party (l'Avenir Ensemble), which toppled the long-time ruling Rally for Caledonia in the Republic
Rally for Caledonia in the Republic
The The Rally–UMP is a conservative political party in New Caledonia, strongly supportive of the French status of the region; it is affiliated with the French Union for a Popular Movement.-History:...
(RPCR) in May 2004. "Future Together" is a party of mostly Caucasian and Polynesian New Caledonians opposed to independence but tired of the hegemonic and allegedly corrupt anti-independence RPCR. Their toppling of the RPCR (that was until then seen as the only voice of New Caledonian whites) was a surprise to many, and a sign that the society of New Caledonia is undergoing changes. "Future together", as the name implies, is opposed to a racial vision of New Caledonian society, opposing Melanesians
Melanesians
Melanesians are an ethnic group in Melanesia. The original inhabitants of the group of islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present-day Papuan-speaking people...
native inhabitants and European settlers, and is in favor of a multicultural New Caledonia, better reflecting the existence of large populations of Polynesians, Indonesians, Chinese, and other immigrants. Some members of "Future Together" are even in favor of greater autonomy or even independence, though not necessarily on the same basis as the Melanesian independence parties which seek full independence for New Caledonia.
Executive branch
|High Commissioner|Yves Dassonville
Yves Dassonville
Yves Dassonville is a French civil servant and statistician. He served as the High Commissioner of New Caledonia from October 25, 2007, succeeding Michel Mathieu, who resigned following a disagreement with then Minister of Overseas France Christian Estrosi over general strikes and social problems...
|
|25 October 2007
|-
|President of the Government
|Harold Martin
Harold Martin (politician)
Harold Martin is a New Caledonian politician, President of the Government of New Caledonia and, since May 22, 2009, President of the Congress of New Caledonia...
|AE
Future Together
The Future Together is a center-right political party in New Caledonia supporting the maintenance of political and administrative ties with France....
|11 March 2011
|}
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 representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. Furthermore there is a 16 member Kanak Customary Senate (two members from each of the eight customary aires).
Political parties and elections
French National Assembly
- Gaël Yanno (first constituency, Union for a Popular MovementUnion for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
, UMP) elected 2007 - Pierre Frogier (second constituency, UMP) re-elected 2007
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's CourtAdministrative divisions
New Caledonia is divided into three provincesCollectivité territoriale
A Territorial collectivity within the French Republic is the generic name for all subnational entities and dependent areas which have an elected local government and a "certain freedom of administration".- Categories :* Regions: There are 22 regions in metropolitan France and 5 ROM...
: Province des Îles, Province Nord, and Province Sud - which are further subdivided into 33 communes
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
.
International organization participation
- French-Pacific Banking Agreement
- International Confederation of Free Trade UnionsInternational Confederation of Free Trade UnionsThe International Confederation of Free Trade Unions was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions , and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour to form the...
- Pacific Islands ForumPacific Islands ForumThe Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum...
(associate) - Secretariat of the Pacific CommunitySecretariat of the Pacific CommunityThe Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC , is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose membership includes both nations and territories...
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificUnited Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificThe Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , located in Bangkok, Thailand, is the regional arm of the United Nations Secretariat for the Asian and Pacific region. It was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states...
(associate) - World Federation of Trade UnionsWorld Federation of Trade UnionsThe World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
- World Meteorological OrganizationWorld Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
.