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
Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean each of the islands in the Mozambique Channel that are claimed by Madagascar. The Glorioso Islands are also claimed by the Comoros, while Mauritius claims Tromelin Island. France claims an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles around each of the small islands in the Îles Éparses, which together with the EEZ claims for the islands of Réunion and Mayotte totals more than one million square kilometres in the western Indian Ocean. There is considerable overlap of the EEZ with the neighbouring states. Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean ( or "Îles