Its government is a modified parliamentary system consisting of a single-chamber legislative assembly of 50 members. Executive authority lies with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The Prime Minister, elected by a majority vote of Parliament, selects his own Cabinet.
Political legitimacy rests on direct election by secret ballot.
There have been five general elections since independence in 1978, most recently in August. The judiciary is independent. A police force of about 500 men under civilian control is responsible for law enforcement. There were occasional reports of police abuse of human rights. About 85 percent of the population engages to some extent in subsistence farming, obtaining food by gardening and fishing, and has little involvement in the cash economy.