Power is shared between a directly elected president, a prime minister, and a bicameral legislature.
Since Slovenia s independence with the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, free, fair, and open elections have characterized the political system. In 1997 elections were held to elect both a president and representatives to Parliament's upper house. The Government respects constitutional provisions for an independent judiciary in practice. The police are under the effective civilian control of the Ministry of the Interior. By law, the armed forces do not exercise civil police functions.