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Executive branch
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Head of government
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President of the General Council Pierre DESERT (since 26 March 2004); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992)
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Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
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Flag description
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the flag of France is used
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three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued orange) (top), white, and green, with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; saffron represents courage, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation; white signifies purity and truth; green stands for faith and fertility; the blue chakra symbolizes the wheel of life in movement and death in stagnation
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Judicial branch
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Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)
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Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")
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Legal system
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French legal system
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common law system based on the English model; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts
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Legislative branch
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unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
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bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members up to 12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha
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Legislative branch
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Election results
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General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - (second election results) percent of vote by party - PS 37.24%, UMP 31.58%, FDG/Walwari 31.18%; seats by party - PS 17, UMP 7, FDG/Walwari 7
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People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD(U) 20, TMC 19, DMK 18, CPI(M) 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, TDP 6, RLD 5, CPI 4, RJD 4, SAD 4, independent 9, other 29, vacant 2(as of February 2013) - INC 204, BJP 115, SP 22, BSP 21, JD(U) 20, AITC 19, DMK 18, CPI(M) 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, TDP 6, RLD 5, CPI 4, RJD 4, SAD 4, independents 9, other 31, nominated (INC) 2, vacant 2
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Legislative branch
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Elections
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General Council - last held in March 2000 (next to be held March 2006); Regional Council - last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010)
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People's Assembly - last held in five phases on 16, 22-23, 30 April and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014)
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National holiday
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Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
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Republic Day, 26 January
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Political parties and leaders
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Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Alix LABBE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Georges HABRAN-MERY]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Remi Louis DUBOC]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]
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Aam Aadmi Party or AAP [Arvind KEJRIWAL]<br />All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [J. JAYALALITHAA]<br />All India Trinamool Congress or TMC [Mamata BANERJEE]<br />Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]<br />Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]<br />Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]<br />Communist Party of India or CPI [A.B. BARDHAN]<br />Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI(M) [Prakash KARAT]<br />Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK [M.KARUNANIDHI]<br />Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]<br />Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV]<br />Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]<br />Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Lalu Prasad YADAV]<br />Rashtriya Lok Dal or RLD [Ajit SINGH]<br />Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]<br />Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]<br />Shiv Sena or SS [Uddhav THACKERAY]<br />Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]<br />
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Transnational Issues
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Disputes
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International
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Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana
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since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, and other matters continue; Kashmir remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India and Pakistan resumed bilateral dialogue in February 2011 after a two-year hiatus, have maintained the 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir, and continue to have disputes over water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; Prime Minister Singh's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over undemarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented; Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal
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