Elections and political parties in Tuvalu scale of the 15 seat parliament, Tuvalu has no political parties, meaning that the political system in Tuvalu exhibits the traits of a Non-partisan democracy. During the time Tuvalu was a British dependency the parliament was called the House of the Assembly or "Fale I Fono". Following independence in October 1978 the House of the Assembly was renamed the Parliament of Tuvalu or "Palamene o Tuvalu". As a consequence of the Ellice Islands self-determination referendum, 1974, separation occurred in two stages. The Tuvaluan Order 1975, which took effect on 1 October 1975, recognised Tuvalu as a separate British dependency with
Pacific Islands Pacific Islands The Pacific Islands are the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Three major groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean are Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. Depending on the context, "Pacific Islands" may refer to countries and islands with common Austronesian origins, islands once or currently colonized, or Oceania. The indigenous inhabitants of the Pacific Islands are referred to as Pacific Islanders. In English, the umbrella term "Pacific Islands" may take on several meanings. Sometimes it refers to only those islands covered by the continent of Oceania. In some common uses, the term "Pacific Islands" refers to the islands of