Attorney-General is purely advisory. Parties Due to the small population size and scale of the 16 seat parliament, Tuvalu has no political parties, meaning that the political system in Tuvalu exhibits the traits of a Non-partisan democracy. 1977 elections to the House of Assembly 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 1974 Ellice Islands self-determination referendum, separation occurred in two stages. The Tuvaluan Order 1975, which took effect on 1 October 1975, recognised Tuvalu as a separate British dependency with its own government. The second stage occurred on 1 January 1976 when separate administrations were created out of the civil service of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Elections to the House of Assembly of the British Colony of Tuvalu were held on 27 August 1977. The candidates for the position of chief minister were Toaripi Lauti from Funafuti, Henry Naisali from Nukulaelae and Dr. Tomasi Puapua from Vaitupu; however, Henry Naisali withdrew before the ballot leaving Toaripi Lauti to win by eight votes to four. Lauti was appointed as chief minister on 1 October 1977. The parliament was dissolved in July 1978 with the government of Toaripi Lauti continuing as a caretaker government, until the 1981 elections were held. 1981 elections to the Parliament of Tuvalu The first elections after independence will not held until 8 September 1981. 26 candidates contested the 12 seats. Dr. Tomasi Puapua, was elected as prime minister with a 7:5 majority over the group a members of parliament headed by former prime minister Toaripi Lauti. 1985 elections to the Parliament of Tuvalu The general election was held on 12 September 1985, with nine members re-elected including prime minister Tomasi Puapua and minister of finance Henry Naisali. On 21 September, Tomasi Puapua was re-elected as prime minister; he subsequently appointed a five-member Cabinet. He remained PM until the 1989 general election. 1989 elections to the Parliament of Tuvalu The general election was held on 26 March 1989. Naama Maheu Latasi was elected to represent the constituency of Nanumea and was the first woman elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu. Puapua chose not the offer himself as a candidate for PM after the 1989 election. Bikenibeu Paeniu