unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held 16 November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at more than $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases valued at less than $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders:

African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde
or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Party for Social Renewal or PRS
[Kumba YALA]; Democratic Social Front or FDS; Electoral Union or UE;
Guinea-Bissau Civic Forum/Social Democracy or FCGSD [Antonieta Rosa
GOMES]; Guinea-Bissau Democratic Party or PDG; Guinea-Bissau
Socialist Democratic Party or PDSG [Serifo BALDE]; Labor and
Solidarity Party or PST [Iancuba INDJAI]; Party for Democratic
Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Party for Renewal and Progress
or PRP; Progress Party or PP [Ibrahima SOW]; Union for Change or UM
[Amine SAAD]; Union of Guinean Patriots or UPG [Francisca VAZ];
United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and
RGB-MB); United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic
Party or PUSD

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional),
WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: