Short facts about the government of Guinea-Bissau
| Country
name: |
conventional long
form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional
short form: Guinea-Bissau
local long form: Republica da
Guine-Bissau
local short form:
Guine-Bissau
former: Portuguese
Guinea |
| Government
type: |
republic, multiparty since
mid-1991 |
| Administrative divisions: |
9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao);
Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note -
Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
| Independence: |
24 September 1973 (unilaterally
declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by
Portugal) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 24 September
(1973) |
| Constitution: |
16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4
December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and
1996 |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
President Koumba YALLA (since 18 February 2000)
head of
government: Prime Minister Faustino IMBALI (since 20 March
2001)
cabinet: NA
elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16
January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the
president after consultation with party leaders in the
legislature
election results: Koumba YALLA elected president;
percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA
(PAIGC) 28% |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral National People's Assembly
or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote
to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28
November 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11
remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded
candidates |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da
Justica (consists of nine justices who are 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 over $1,000); 24
Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil
cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal
cases) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
African Party for the Independence of
Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the
Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau
Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or
FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or
LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and
Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic
Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Koumba
YALLA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD,
secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de
MARIA] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International organization participation: |
ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA,
ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC,
OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mario LOPES DA ROSA
chancery: Suite 519,
1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202)
347-3950
FAX: [1] (202)
347-3954 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
the US Embassy suspended operations on
14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then
President VIEIRA and military-led junta |
| Flag
description: |
two equal horizontal bands of yellow
(top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black
five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors
of Ethiopia | Source: World Factbook |
