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The only legal political party is the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The head of state is President Khamtay Siphandone. The head of government is Prime Minister Bounnhang Vorachit. Government policies are determined by the party through the all-powerful ten-member Politburo and the 52-member Central Committee. Important government decisions are vetted by the Council of Ministers.
Laos adopted its Constitution in 1991. The following year, elections were held for a new 85-seat National Assembly with members elected by secret ballot to 5-year terms. The National Assembly, expanded in 1997 elections to 99 members, approves all new laws, although the executive branch retains the authority to issue binding decrees. The most recent elections took place in February 2002, when the National Assembly was expanded to 109 members.
Laos has few laws and is governed largely through the issuance of decrees. Of note, in July 2002, the government promulgated Prime Ministerial Decree 92 governing religious practice. Since the end of the Indochina conflict, a low-level insurgency against the regime has continued. The incidents have included a series of bombings in the capital during the summer of 2000 and renewed spikes of violence in 2003 against all forms of transportation and public markets. The United States does not endorse or support violent activities carried out against the Lao Government.
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