List of African Union member states by political system

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Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

African Union (AU) member states have various forms of government. The Constitutive Act of the African Union makes no provision for what type of government a member state may or must have, but Article 30 states:

Governments which shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the activities of the Union.

This clause has only been applied to Mauritania after its 2005 coup d'état, to Madagascar as a result of the 2009 Malagasy political crisis and to Togo during its political crisis in April 2005.

Several political systems of governance are represented in the AU, including stable, competitive

Western Sahara's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
.)

Monarchism and republicanism

  monarchy
  republic
See also: Republicanism, Monarchism, and Monarchies in Africa

At present, three sovereign

constitutional protection
from arrest and trial.

In several other African states there are subnational monarchs, but only a select few are vested with

traditional leaders
of their respective countries.

Due to constitutional reform in Uganda in 1993, several traditional monarchies have been politically reconstituted by the government of Yoweri Museveni. These are:

Elsewhere, in

provincial governments, which in turn receive their powers to do so from a series of chieftaincy laws that have been legislatively created. Beyond this, residual powers are also derived by the Nigerian traditional rulers from both pre-existing customary laws and the remnants of the indirect rule policy of the colonial era
.

Historically, there have been several monarchies throughout the African continent. Since decolonization, many have been abolished in favor of republics. The following African monarchies have existed in the twentieth century:

Several African colonies were under the

Commonwealth realms
, sharing their head of state with the United Kingdom. All have subsequently abolished the monarchy:

In spite of this, several African states are affiliated with the Commonwealth of Nations:

Form of government

See also:
Form of government
semi-presidential system
  parliamentary republics
  parliamentary constitutional monarchies in which the monarch does not personally exercise power
  absolute monarchies
  One-party states
  non-AU state
Somalia and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are colored according to their de jure form of government. The former is a failed state, the latter is mostly under military occupation by Morocco, although the SADR does administer some territory
.
Freedom in the World 2006
.
  6–6.9
  5–5.9
  4–4.9
  3–3.9
  2–2.9
  1–1.9
  not ranked
  non-AU state
The Corruption Perceptions Index is published by Transparency International and provides data on perceived corruption. Every African state has a problem with corruption according to this survey.

There are several types of government systems in African politics:

Even in other states with elections, actual opposition may not exist. The following have been or are considered dominant-party systems:

The

politics of Africa have been blighted by severe problems with corruption and nepotism, coups d'état, and civil war. Corruption is a severe problem in much of the continent, with the vast majority of African states ranking below a five out of ten in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index
. Five of the ten most corrupt governments are AU member states:

  1. Angola (2.0)
  2. Côte d'Ivoire (1.9)
  1. Equatorial Guinea (1.9)
  1. Nigeria (1.9)
  1. Chad (1.7)

The following AU states are in

ongoing wars
, or have recently ceased hostilities:

Degree of self-governance

See also: Self-governance

Forty-five of the African Union's member states are

president for internal affairs. Former federations and confederations in Africa
from the twentieth century include:

Legislatures

A further distinction is the number of chambers in the national

bills
.

The function and form of the houses vary widely; some are directly elected, others indirectly or appointed, some have legal provisions for minority representation, based either on ethnicity, religious affiliation, or gender. In Cameroon and Malawi, there are legally two houses, but only one is functional.

There are presently 34 unicameral legislatures and 19 bicameral legislatures in among AU member states.

Listed by form of government

State
Government
 Head of state Head of government
 Algeria
semi-presidential unitary republic
 President of Algeria Prime Minister of Algeria
 Angola presidential unitary republic President of Angola
 Benin presidential unitary republic President of Benin
 Botswana parliamentary unitary republic President of Botswana
 Burkina Faso presidential unitary republic
President of Burkina Faso
Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
 Burundi presidential unitary republic President of Burundi
 Cameroon presidential unitary republic President of Cameroon
 Cape Verde parliamentary unitary republic
President of Cape Verde
Prime Minister of Cape Verde
 Central African Republic presidential unitary republic
President of the Central African Republic
Prime Minister of the Central African Republic
 Chad presidential unitary republic
President of Chad
Prime Minister of Chad
 Comoros presidential federal republic
President of Comoros
 Democratic Republic of the Congo semi-presidential unitary republic President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
 Republic of the Congo presidential unitary republic
President of the Republic of the Congo
 Ivory Coast presidential unitary republic
President of Ivory Coast
Prime Minister of Ivory Coast
 Djibouti presidential unitary republic
President of Djibouti
Prime Minister of Djibouti
 Egypt semi-presidential unitary republic President of Egypt Prime Minister of Egypt
 Equatorial Guinea presidential unitary republic
President of Equatorial Guinea
Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea
 Eritrea presidential unitary republic
President of Eritrea
 Eswatini (Swaziland) unitary absolute monarchy
King of Swaziland
 Ethiopia semi-presidential federal republic President of Ethiopia Prime Minister of Ethiopia
 Gabon presidential unitary republic President of Gabon Prime Minister of Gabon
 Gambia presidential unitary republic President of the Gambia
 Ghana presidential unitary republic President of Ghana
 Guinea presidential unitary republic
President of Guinea
Prime Minister of Guinea
 Guinea-Bissau semi-presidential unitary republic
President of Guinea-Bissau
Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau
 Kenya presidential unitary republic President of Kenya
 Lesotho parliamentary unitary constitutional monarchy
King of Lesotho
Prime Minister of Lesotho
 Liberia presidential unitary republic President of Liberia
 Libya parliamentary republic President of the House of Representatives Prime Minister of Libya
 Madagascar semi-presidential devolved republic
President of Madagascar
 Prime Minister of Madagascar
 Malawi presidential unitary republic President of Malawi
 Mali presidential unitary republic
President of Mali
Prime Minister of Mali
 Mauritania semi-presidential republic
President of Mauritania
Prime Minister of Mauritania
 Mauritius semi-presidential unitary republic President of Mauritius Prime Minister of Mauritius
 Morocco parliamentary unitary constitutional monarchy King of Morocco Prime Minister of Morocco
 Mozambique presidential unitary republic
President of Mozambique
Prime Minister of Mozambique
 Namibia presidential unitary republic President of Namibia Prime Minister of Namibia
 Niger semi-presidential unitary republic
President of Niger
Prime Minister of Niger
 Nigeria presidential unitary federation President of Nigeria
 Rwanda presidential unitary republic
President of Rwanda
 Prime Minister of Rwanda
 São Tomé and Príncipe semi-presidential unitary republic
President of São Tomé and Príncipe
Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe
 Senegal presidential unitary republic President of Senegal Prime Minister of Senegal
 Seychelles presidential unitary republic
President of Seychelles
 Sierra Leone presidential unitary republic President of Sierra Leone
 Somalia semi-presidential federal republic President of Somalia
Prime Minister of Somalia
 South Africa semi-presidential unitary republic President of South Africa
 South Sudan presidential federal republic
President of South Sudan
 Sudan presidential federal republic
President of Sudan
 Tanzania presidential federacy republic President of Tanzania Prime Minister of Tanzania
 Togo presidential unitary republic
President of Togo
Prime Minister of Togo
 Tunisia presidential unitary republic President of Tunisia Prime Minister of Tunisia
 Uganda presidential unitary republic President of Uganda Prime Minister of Uganda
 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic semi-presidential unitary republic President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
 Zambia presidential unitary republic President of Zambia
 Zimbabwe presidential unitary republic President of Zimbabwe

Listed by type of legislature

State Unicameral/
bicameral		 Overall name of legislature Method of election
Lower house (members) Upper house (members)
 Algeria bicameral Parliament Members of the People's National Assembly are directly elected every five years. The Council of the Nation has two-thirds of its members elected by regional and municipal authorities; one-third are appointed by the president to six-year terms with one-half of the seats up for election or reappointment every 3 years.
People's National Assembly (380) Council of the Nation (144)
 Angola unicameral
National Assembly
(Assembleia Nacional) (220) 		Members are elected for a four-year term, 130 by proportional representation and 90 in provincial districts.
 Benin unicameral
National Assembly
(83) 		Members are elected every four years by party-list proportional representation.
 Botswana bicameral Parliament Members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms by
appointed by sub-chiefs in the districts of North-East, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, and North-West
; three members are elected by the aforementioned twelve.
Ntlo ya Dikgosi (15) National Assembly (63)
 Burkina Faso unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) (111) Members are elected to five-year terms by proportional representation, 21 from one national constituency and 90 from 13 regional constituencies, with two to 10 per region, using the party-list proportional representation system.
 Burundi bicameral Parliament Members of the National Assembly are elected for five-year terms in 17 multi-member
constituencies by the D'Hondt method of proportional representation with a 2% barrier; 100 are directly elected and between 18 and 21 are co-opted. Constitutionally, 60% of members be from the Hutu ethnic group, while the remaining 40% come from the Tutsi ethnic group. Members of the Senate are elected for five-year terms by electoral colleges of communal councilors. Two senators, one Hutu and one Tutsi, are chosen by electoral colleges of communal councilors in each of the country's 17 provinces. Voting takes place using a three-round system. In the first two rounds, a candidate must receive a super-majority (two-thirds, or 67% of the vote) to be elected. If no candidate is elected in these rounds, a third round is organized for the two leading candidates, of which the candidate receiving the majority of votes is elected. Former heads of state automatically become senators. In both houses, three co-opted members represent the Twa
ethnic group and women must occupy at least 30% of the seats; extra seats can be added to ensure that ethnic and gender quotas are met.
National Assembly
(Assemblée nationale) (118–121)
Senate
(Sénat) (37–54)
 Cameroon bicameral N/A Members of the National Assembly are elected for five-year terms in 49 single- and multi-seat constituencies. The Constitution of Cameroon established of a 100-member senate as part of a bicameral legislature, with one-third of senators to be appointed by the President of Cameroon, and the remaining two-thirds to be chosen by indirect election. The government has yet to establish the Senate.
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale) (180)
Senate
(Sénat) (100)
 Cape Verde unicameral
National Assembly
(Asembleia Nacional) (72) 		Members are elected to five-year terms by proportional representation, in 16 multi-member constituencies by the D'Hondt method of proportional representation.
 Central African Republic unicameral
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale) (105) 		Members are elected for a five-year term using two-round run-off voting.
 Chad unicameral
National Assembly
(155) 		Members are elected by for four-year terms in 25 single-member constituencies and 34 multi-member constituencies.
 Comoros unicameral Assembly of the Union of the Comoros (33) Members are elected to five-year terms; 18 directly in single member constituencies using two-round run-off voting, 15 from local assemblies on each of the three islands of Anjouan, Mohéli, and Grande Comore.
 Democratic Republic of the Congo bicameral Parliament Members of the National Assembly are elected by direct suffrage, senators are elected by the legislatures of the 26 provinces.
National Assembly
(500)
Senate
(120)
 Republic of the Congo bicameral Parliament Parlement Members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms in single-seat constituencies. Members of the Senate are elected to six-year terms by the district, local, and regional councils.
National Assembly
Assemblée Nationale (153)
Senate
Sénat (66)
 Ivory Coast unicameral
National Assembly
Assemblée Nationale (225) 		Members are elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies.
 Djibouti unicameral
National Assembly
Assemblée Nationale (65) 		Members are elected to five-year terms in multi-seat constituencies (between four and 37 each); legally, 33 are Issa and 32 are Afar.
 Egypt unicameral House of Representatives
مجلس النواب Maglis Al-Nowwab (450) 		The House sits for a five-year term but can be dissolved earlier by the president. All seats are voted on in each election. The House of Representatives members are elected by absolute majority of legitimate votes cast.
 Equatorial Guinea unicameral
Chamber of People's Representatives
(Cámara de Representantes del Pueblo)(100) 		Members are elected for five-year terms by party-list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies.
 Eritrea unicameral
National Assembly
(Hagerawi Baito) 		The National Assembly has 104 members; 60 appointed and 44 representing the members of the Central Committee of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice.
 Ethiopia bicameral Federal Parliamentary Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) Members of the House of People's Representatives are elected to five-year terms in single-seat constituencies; 22 of these seats are reserved for minority nationalities and peoples. Members of the House of Federation are elected by State Councils that may either have direct elections or chose their member of the House.
Constitutionally
, "[E]ach Nation, Nationality and People shall be represented in the House of the Federation by at least one member. Each Nation or Nationality shall be represented by one additional representative for each one million of its population."
House of People's Representatives
(የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት (Yehizbtewekayoch Mekir Bet))(547)		 House of Federation (የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት (Yefedereshn Mekir Bet))(112)
 Gabon bicameral Parliament (Parlement) Members of the National Assembly are elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies, with nine members appointed by the President of Gabon. Members of the Senate are elected for six-year terms in single-seat constituencies by local and departmental councillors.
National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) (120) Senate (Sénat)(91)
 Gambia unicameral National Assembly (53) Members are elected to five-year terms in single-member constituencies with plurality voting; 48 are directly elected while the remaining five are appointed by the President of the Gambia.
 Ghana unicameral Parliament (231) Members are elected to four-year terms – except in times of war, when their mandate can extend to five years – from single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote.
 Guinea unicameral
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale)(114) 		Members are elected to five-year terms, 38 in single-seat constituencies with plurality voting, and 76 by proportional representation using national party-lists.
 Guinea-Bissau unicameral
National People's Assembly
(Assembleia Nacional Popular)(102) 		Members are elected for five-year terms in multi-member constituencies, with 100 members elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and two seats reserved for Guinea-Bissau citizens living overseas, but they were not filled in the most recent election.
 Kenya unicameral
National Assembly or Bunge
(224) 		Members are elected for five-year terms; 210 in single-seat constituencies, 12 nominated by political parties on a proportional representation basis, and 2 ex officio appointments, the Attorney-General and the Speaker.
 Lesotho bicameral Parliament Members of the National Assembly are elected for five-year terms; 80 in single-seat constituencies, with plurality voting, 40 through proportional representation and national party-lists. In the Senate, 22 members are hereditary principal chiefs and 11 are nominated by the
King of Lesotho
, all for five-year terms.
National Assembly
(120)		 Senate (33)
 Liberia bicameral Legislature Members of the House are elected for six-year terms in single-seat constituencies distributed among Liberia's fifteen counties based on its total number of registered voters. Each county is guaranteed by law to have at least two seats. Members of the Senate ar elected for nine-year terms in single-seat constituencies with two senators for each of Liberia's counties.
House of Representatives (64) Senate (30)
 Libya unicameral House of Representatives (200) Members of the House of Representatives are elected in a
first-past-the-post in single-member constituencies, 80 seats through single non-transferable vote in 29 multi-member constituencies, and 80 seats through proportional representation
 Madagascar bicameral Parliament Members of the National Assembly are elected to four-year terms in a mix of single- and two-member constituencies. Members of the Senate are elected to six-year terms, with 10 members for each province chosen by provincial electors and 30 members are appointed.
National Assembly
(Antenimieram-Pirenena/Assemblée Nationale)(160)		 Senate (Sénat)(90)
 Malawi bicameral N/A Members of the National Assembly are elected for five-year terms in single- and multiple-seat constituencies; 147 are directly elected with two-round run-off votes, the other 13 represent the Malawian community abroad on a separate ticket. The Constitution of Malawi established of an 80-member senate as part of a bicameral legislature, with representation for traditional leaders and the different geographical districts, as well as various special interest groups, such as women, youth, and the disabled. The government has yet to establish the Senate.
National Assembly
(194)		 Senate (80)
 Mali unicameral
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale)(160) 		Members are elected to five-year terms, 147 members elected in single-seat constituencies with party-list proportional representation and 13 members elected by Malians abroad.
 Mauritania bicameral
Parliament
(Barlamane/Parlement) 		Members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms in single-seat constituencies. Members of the Senate are elected to six-year terms by municipal councillors with one-third renewed every two years and three members elected by Mauritanians abroad.
National Assembly
(Al Jamiya al-Wataniyah/Assemblée Nationale) (81)		 Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh/Sénat) (56)
 Mauritius unicameral
National Assembly
(70) 		Members are elected for four-year terms in single-seat constituencies; 62 are directly elected eight are appointed by the Supreme Court to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are equitably represented.
 Morocco bicameral Parliament The House of Representatives or the lower house. 395 members elected directly for a five-year term. The House of Councillors is elected indirectly for a six-year term by two sets of electoral colleges.
House of Representatives (395) House of Councillors (270)
 Mozambique unicameral
Assembly of the Republic
(Assembleia da República)(250) 		Members are elected to five-year terms by proportional representation, with a 5% barrier.
 Namibia bicameral Parliament Members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms, 72 by proportional representation, and six appointed by the President of Namibia. Members of the National Council are elected to six-year terms in double-seat constituencies (regions).
National Assembly
(78)
National Council
(26)
 Niger unicameral
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale)(113) 		Members are elected for five-year terms by party-list proportional representation, with a 5% barrier; 105 elected in multi-seat constituencies and eight in single-seat national minority constituencies.
 Nigeria bicameral
National Assembly
 Members of the House of Representatives are elected to four-year terms in single-member constituencies using the simple majority system. Members of the Senate are elected to four-year terms in three-member constituencies (one for each of Nigeria's states), except the federal district of Abuja, which has one representative. The House was created to provide proportional representation based on population in Nigeria's states; the Senate represents the states themselves.
House of Representatives
(360)		 Senate (109)
 Rwanda bicameral Parliament (Inteko Ishinga Amategeko/Parlement) Members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected to five-year terms; 53 in direct elections by proportional representation, with a 5% barrier, 24 female members are elected by
President of Rwanda to ensure the representation of historically marginalized communities, four are appointed by the Forum of Political Formations
, and two are elected by the staff of the universities. Additionally, former presidents can request to be members of the Senate.
Chamber of Deputies
(Umutwe w'Abadepite/Chambre des Députés) (80)
Senate
(Umutwe wa Sena/Sénat) (26)
 São Tomé and Príncipe unicameral
National Assembly
(Assembleia Nacional)(55) 		Members are elected for four-year terms in seven multi-member constituencies by party-list proportional representation.
 Senegal unicameral
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale)(120) 		Members are elected to five-year terms in multi-seat constituencies.
 Seychelles unicameral
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale)(34) 		Members are elected to five-year terms; 25 in single-member constituencies with plurality voting; nine through a system of proportional representation.
 Sierra Leone unicameral Parliament or House of Representatives (124) Members are elected to five-year terms; 112 through proportional representation in 14 multi-seat constituencies with a constituency threshold of 12.5%, and 12 are paramount chiefs who are indirectly elected.
 Somalia unicameral
Transitional Federal Parliament
(275) 		Somalia has not had a functioning government since the beginning of the Somali Civil War in 1991. Members of the parliament were divided between Somalia's four major clans, with 61 seats each, while an alliance of minority clans was awarded 31 seats.
 South Africa bicameral Parliament Members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms through proportional representation, half of whom are chosen from nationwide party lists, the other from party lists for each province. Members of the National Council of Provinces are appointed in groups of ten by provincial legislatures for five-year terms.
National Assembly (400) National Council of Provinces (90)
 South Sudan bicameral National Legislature A member of the National Legislative Assembly cannot also be a member of the Council of States (and vice versa). The term of the National Legislature shall be four years from July 9, 2011. The Constitution is a transitional Constitution and the terms relating to future general elections are not contained in it. However, there are provisions included for by-elections should vaccancies arise during the first four-year period.
Council of States (50) National Legislative Assembly (170)
 Sudan bicameral
National Legislature
 Members of the National Legislature are elected to six-year terms. Members of the National Assembly are appointed by the government; members of the Council of States are elected by the state legislatures.
National Assembly (Majlis Watani)(450)
Council of States
(Majlis Welayat)(50)
 Eswatini bicameral Parliament (Libandla) Members of the House of Assembly are elected to five-year terms in single-member constituencies corresponding to the
King of Swaziland
appoints 10 members to the House. Members of the Senate are elected to five-year terms; 20 members are appointed by the King, 10 are elected by the House of Assembly.
House of Assembly (55) National Council (30)
 Tanzania unicameral
National Assembly or Bunge
(324) 		Members are elected to five-year terms; 236 elected in single-seat constituencies (181 from
House of Representatives of Zanzibar has 81 members who serve five-year terms, 50 elected in single-member constituencies using plurality voting; 10 appointed by the President of Zanzibar; five are reserved for government-appointed regional commissioners; 15 seats are reserved for women and are filled on a party basis; the final seat is reserved for the Attorney-General
.
 Togo unicameral
National Assembly
(Assemblée Nationale) (81) 		Members are elected to five-year terms in single-member constituencies in using a two-round run-off system.
 Tunisia unicameral Assembly of the Representatives of the People (Majlis Nawwāb ash-Sha‘b) (217) Semi-proportional representation based on multi-member constituency party-lists
 Uganda unicameral
National Assembly
(319) 		Members of the National Assembly members are elected to five-year terms; 215 in single-member constituencies; 78 from
special interest groups, including 69 District Women Representatives, 10 army representatives, five youth representatives, five representatives for the disabled, and five from trade unions
; 13 are ex officio members.
 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic unicameral Sahrawi National Council (101) According to the
labor
).
 Zambia unicameral National Assembly (159) Members are elected to five-year terms; 150 in single-member constituencies using simple plurality, eight are appointed by the President of Zambia, and one is an ex officio member.
 Zimbabwe bicameral Parliament Members of the House of Assembly are elected to five-year terms; 120 in single-member constituencies using the simple majority, 12 are appointed by the President of Zimbabwe, eight are provincial governors who hold reserved seats; 10 are held by traditional chiefs who are chosen by their peers. In the Senate, 50 members (five from each province) are directly elected in single-member constituencies by simple majority, six are appointed by the president, and additional members and the remaining 10 seats are held by traditional chiefs who are chosen in separate elections.
House of Assembly
(150)		 Senate (66)

See also

References

  1. ^ Freedom House (2006-06-27). "2005". Freedom in the World. Archived from the original on 2006-02-17. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
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