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political reviews • polynesia 253 the election of 11 of the 20 coun- selors. Elections were scheduled for 6 September 1998 at Hahake (4 seats), Hihifo (3 seats), and Alo (4 seats). Of the remaining 9 elected counselors, 1 was a member of the opposition, and the other 8 were members of the local majority party (Rassemblement Pour la République, rpr). Eighteen parties introduced sixty-seven candidates. The ballot involved a vote for one or more candidates on a list drawn up by a political party and left little chance for the second or third candidates to enter the assembly. Electors favoring their families or their villages had the effect of dividing the vote in a uniform manner. Three of the incumbents were defeated, the consequence of which was to decrease the conservative rpr majority. The daughter of the deceased senator, Bernadette Papilio (rpr), replaced Samino Taputai by a margin of eight votes. The ideological cleavage between the majority and the minority became more pronounced. The Union for Wallis and Futuna (upwf), which espouses principles of the socialist party, won six seats at the expense of independent members. As a result of the death of Senator M Papilio at the beginning of 1998, elections were scheduled for 28 Sep- tember. Six official candidates had to share the 21 votes of the territorial counselors and the senator combined. Wallis and Futuna The considerable right-wing majority was handicapped by the presence of The year 1998–99 was rich in politi- 5 candidates facing only 1 left-wing cal incidents and a wide variety of candidate, an incumbent member of events occurred: the European elec- parliament, Kamilo Gata. In the first tions, the replacement of an elected round, the right-wing candidates had political figure who died during his 4, 4, 3, 2, and 1 vote respectively, term, and the local elections. although the only left-wing candidate A decree of 24 July 1998 annulled won all of the 6 votes available to the 254 the contemporary pacific • spring 2000 opposition. Surprisingly, in the second Wallis, and Louis Le Pensec, previous round of voting, the majority intro- minister of the Socialist party, stopped duced only one new candidate, a fifty- over in Wallis on 29 May for a politi- one-year-old Brother of the Sacred cal meeting. Out of twenty national Heart, Robert (Lopeleto) Laufoaulu, lists, only ten provided their mani- then director of Catholic education. festos and advertising materials. He substituted for Emeni Simene, a Wallis and Futuna had the highest candidate who had withdrawn. This turnout rates in France, with more surprise election organized by Mem- than 60 percent participation. The ber of Parliament Victor Brial was rel- Socialist party list obtained 55 percent atively coldly received by the political of votes (2,811), the rpr 32 percent circle. However, it received the con- (1,619), and the liberal party or udf sent of the population, who took into 4 percent (218). consideration his religious responsibil- In 1998 the French state provided ities, his belonging to the aliki fami- resources amounting to 6.5 billion lies, and his well-known abilities. francs cfp, or 430,000 fcfp per In January 1999, Brial announced capita. This particularly high contri- that he would not be a candidate for bution provided wages for 417 expa- a third term as president of the Terri- triate public servants, as well meeting torial Assembly. On 14 January his the costs of state and territory services majority party chose Soane Uhila, and support for development pro- who had already ensured his preselec- grams. Half of this budget was allo- tion during 1992 and 1993. In Janu- cated to national education. In July ary 1999, Senator Laufoaulu obtained 1998 the state poured into Wallis 80 an amendment of the Organic Act of million francs cfp to compensate the New Caledonia, the final text specify- victims of Cyclone Ron, or 8,500 ing that the particular agreement fcfp per inhabitant. Meanwhile, the between Wallis, Futuna, and New 1999 territorial budget amounts to Caledonia will have to be in place by more than 2 billion francs cfp. 31 March 2000 at the latest. Mean- On the economic side, the litiga- while, from 19 to 21 March, all the tion mounted by the General-Import- politicians and the inhabitants of Mulioto family was officially termi- Wallis participated in the commemo- nated by the court of Mata-Utu on 21 ration of the forty-year reign of August 1998, and the landlord asked Lavelua Tomasi. to provide free access to the docks An agreement was signed between involved. The intervention of Lavelua, the Union for Wallis and Futuna via a secret agreement, enabled the (upwf) and the French socialist party end of the litigation, which stems on 28 October 1998, and Kamilo from a 1994 lease agreement. Gata was ranked 77th (out of 87) in On 17 August, a branch of the the Socialist party list during the Euro- labor democratic French confedera- pean elections of June 1999. Two pre- tion opened at Futuna. In September vious members of Parliament of the 1998 and again in April 1999, a small Socialist party organized a week of packet-boat from Rarotonga and its political training in May 1999 in 130 passengers visited Wallis and political reviews • polynesia 255 Futuna for one-day stopovers. In July (Futuna). Archeologist D Frimigacci 1999, Wallis Development Company, (CNRS) is pursuing the renovation of purchased some Australian-made the Utuleve site, known as the Kala- heavy equipment for use on water filia residence. On 29 October, the adduction work at Mua. On 25 painter Jean Michon died at the age August, the first chemist shop (phar- of seventy-two. A website has been macy) on Wallis opened its doors at created by F Lecorre, a metropolitan Mata-Utu, with the price of medicines who has never been to Wallis. His site limited to a threshold of 60 percent has already been visited 10,000 times of metropolitan prices. (http://www.wallis-island.com). In The traditional food-producing sport, the territory won eleven medals economy continued to be healthy. during the Seventh Bangkok Fespic Fishing from the Nefu in Gahi Bay games for disabled people, finishing in February produced the targeted twelfth of twenty-nine countries. results: tens of kilos of young fish, During the Eleventh Pacific Games in with one portion offered according to Guam in June 1999, the territory won custom to the chiefs. The sale of two twenty medals, three of them gold. or three boxes of trochus exported to In the area of custom, the Lavelua Italy each year yielded 10–15 million underwent reorganization. In 1998, francs cfp. The 34 tons exported in Mika Hoatau became the new prime 1998 is ensured by the Mafoa family, minister, holding the title of Kalae- and represents the main source of Kivalu, and Sanele Tauvale became income for forty families. Shells with Mahe. After many refusals, Sosefo a diameter above 9 cm are purchased Vaitotai agreed in January 1999 to for 350 francs per kilo from the fish- take over as Pului‘uvea, the custom ers, the flesh being sold at 300 francs position in charge of maintaining per kilo. At the end of June 1999, order. He is sixty years old, married another vessel, the Mistral, entirely and father of eleven children, and crewed by French fishers, joined the was living on his plantations. Finally, maritime register at Mata-Utu. The in the religious arena, the jubilees of fishing tax determined by the Territo- Monseigneur Lolesio Fuahea, cele- rial Assembly could have been 4 per- brating twenty-six years as an episco- cent of the value of the catch, but was pate, and Sister Mikaela Faupala, negotiated at 0.4 percent. That should with fifty years of service to God, yield 125 million cfp, not counting occurred in July 1998. At the end of the 5 million cfp annual tax on navi- December, Deacon Soane Patita Hau- gation. taufaao became a priest and was sent On the cultural side, a necklace to Tonga. made of sperm-whale teeth and white frédéric angleviel porcelain was discovered at Fikavi.

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