Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (inaugurated on 25 October 1997) head of government: prime minister (vacant) appointed from the majority party by the president cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution which will change term to seven years) election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president; percent of vote-Pascal LISSOUBA 61%, Bernard KOLELAS 39%
Legislative branch: bicameral parliament consists of an Assemblee Nationale or National Assembly (125 seats, members are elected by direct popular vote for five-year terms) and a Senat or Senate (60 seats, members are elected by direct popular vote for six-year terms); note-the National Assembly which was elected on 3 October 1993 was dissolved; it has been replaced by a transitional advisory parliament of 75 members named by the National Reconciliation Forum of January 1998 elections: National Assembly-last held 3 October 1993 (next to be held NA); Senate - last held November 1996 (next to be held NA) election results: National Assembly-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party - UPADS 64, URD/PCT 58, others 3; Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-UPADS 23, MCDDI 14, RDD 8, RDPS 5, PCT 2, others 8
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: the most important of the many political parties are Congolese Labor Party or PCT [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Development or RDD [Joachim YHOMBI-OPANGO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA, leader]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI, leader]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO, leader]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD; Union for Development and Social Progress or UDPS [Jean-Michael BOKAMBA-YANGOUMA, leader]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Union of Congolese Socialist
Youth or UJSC; Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; Revolutionary
Union of Congolese Women or URFC; General Union of Congolese Pupils
and Students or UGEEC
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC,
CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UDEAC,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MONBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador J. Aubrey HOOKS embassy: Avenue Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville mailing address: B. P. 1015, Brazzaville telephone: [242] 83 20 70 FAX: [242] 83 63 38 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa)