Legislative power instituted by the Constitution is exercised by a bicameral Parliament:
- The National Assembly whose members were elected on 22nd July 2007;
- The Senate.
In its provisional and final dispositions, Law N°96/06 of 18th January 1996 on constitutional revision of 2nd June 1972 stipulates that the National Assembly exercises full legislative power and enjoys full parliamentary prerogatives until the Senate becomes functional. The National Assembly has 1 80 MPs ail elected by direct and secret suffrage for a 5-year mandate. Each year, the National Assembly holds three ordinary sessions for a maximum duration of 30 days each (Section 15).
Section 19 of the Constitution provides that the National Assembly adopts laws in the simple majority of deputies. The initiative of a law belongs to the President of the Republic and Parliament. Section 26 precises the domain of the law, among others:
- Fundamental rights, guarantees and obligations of the citizen;
- Status of persons and property regime;
- Political, Administrative and Judicial organization;
- Financial and patrimonial matters, in particular on the system of issuing money, budget, creation of taxes and duties as well as recovery methods,
domanial, land and mining systems, and natural resources system; - Education system.
