Country name: conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte conventional short form: Mayotte
Government type: NA
Capital: name: Mamoudzou geographic coordinates: 12 46 S, 45 13 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)
Independence: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)
National holiday: Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: the laws of France, where applicable, apply
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by Prefect Denis ROBIN (since 28 July 2008) head of government: President of the General Council Ahmed Attoumani DOUCHINA (since March 2008) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term; next election to be held in 2010
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 9 and 16 March 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 8, Diverse Right 4, independents 4, Citizens and Republic Movement 1, Democratic Movement 1, Diverse Left 1; note - political parties are the same as parties in France note: Mayotte elects two members of the French Senate; elections last held 21 September 2008 (next to be held in September 2014); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UC-UDF 1, UMP 1; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 10-17 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Ahmed MADI]; Federation of Mahorans or UMP-RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Force of the Rally and the Alliance for Democracy or FRAP; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Mouhoutar SALIM]; Renewed Communist Party of Mayotte or MRC [Omar SIMBA]; Socialist Party or PS [Ibrahim ABUBACAR] (local branch of French Parti Socialiste); Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: InOC, UPU, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)
Flag description: unofficial, local flag with the coat of arms of Mayotte centered on a white field, above which the name of the island appears in red capital letters; the main elements of the coat of arms, flanked on either side by a seahorse, appear above a scroll with the motto RA HACHIRI (We are Vigilant); the only official flag is the national flag of France