Country name: conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan
local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
local short form: As-Sudan
former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

Government type:
Federal republic ruled by the National Congress Party the (NCP), which came to power by military coup in 1989; the CPA-mandated Government of National Unity, which since 2005 provided a percentage of leadership posts to the south Sudan-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), was disbanded following the secession of South Sudan.

Capital:
name: Khartoum
geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
17 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Jazira (Gezira), Al Khartoum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shimaliyya (Northern), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Kassala, Nahr an Nil (River Nile), Sharq Darfur (Eastern Darfur), Shimal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shimal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sinnar, Wasat Darfur (Central Darfur)

Independence:
1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Constitution:
previous 1998; latest (interim) adopted 6 July 2005, effective 9 July 2005; note - in 2011, the Government of Sudan initiated a process for drafting a new constitution (2013)

Legal system:
mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law

International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2008

Suffrage:
17 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Bakri Hassan SALEH, Second Vice President Hassabo Mohamed Abdul RAHMAN (both since 8 December 2013) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Bakri Hassan SALEH, Second Vice President Hassabo Mohamed Abdul RAHMAN (both since 8 December 2013)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet
elections: election on 11-15 April 2010 (next to be held in 2015)
election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR 68.2%, Yasir ARMAN 21.7%, Abdullah Deng NHIAL 3.9%, others 6.2%
note: al-BASHIR assumed power as chairman of Sudan's Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC) in June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until mid-October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; he was elected president by popular vote for the first time in March 1996

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; 60% from geographic constituencies, 25% from a women's list, and 15% from party lists; members to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 11-15 April 2010 (next to be held in 2016)
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NCP 323, SPLM 99, PCP 4, DUP 4, UFP 3, URDP 2, DUPO 2, SPLM-DC 2, other 7, vacant 4; composition of National Assembly following South Sudan's independence - seats by party - NCP 317, SPLM 8, PCP 4, DUP 4, UFP 3, URDP 2, DUPO 1, UP 1, UNP 1, UCLP 1, MB 1, independent 3, vacant 8
note: the mandate of the members from the south was terminated upon independence by the Republic of South Sudan effective 9 July 2011 and membership in Sudan's National Assembly was reduced to 354; it is unclear whether this total will be retained for the next election or whether the previous total of 450 will be reconstituted

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): National Supreme Court (consists of 70 judges organized into panels of 3 judges; court includes 4 circuits that operate outside the capital); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 justices including the court president); note - the Constitutional Court resides outside the national judiciary
judge selection and term of office: National Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Service Commission, an independent body chaired by the chief justice of the republic and members including other judges and judicial and legal officials; Supreme Court judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges appointed for 7 years
subordinate courts: National Court of Appeals; other national courts (not specified in the 2005 Interim National Constitution as to national or local authority); township and rural (peoples') courts

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Unionist Party or DUP [Hatim al-SIR]