Gilbert and Ellice Islands the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, and the Tuvaluans wanted equal representation to that of the I-Kiribati. A new constitution was introduced in 1971, which provided that each of the islands of Tuvalu (except Niulakita) elected one representative. However that did not end the Tuvaluan movement for independence. In 1974 Ministerial government was introduced in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony through a change to the Constitution. The 1967 constitution created a parliament, whose members were elected in the following elections: A referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have
Pacific Ocean most of the islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line, includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to the west and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast. Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea, the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands.