Mozambique is a constitutional multi-party democracy with a republican form of government. In 2009 voters re-elected President Armando Guebuza in an election several national and international observers, including the EU and the Commonwealth, criticized as lacking a "level playing field" and faulted for lacking transparency, integrity, impartiality, and independence. Domestic and foreign observers and local civil society organizations expressed concern about the electoral procedures that preceded the balloting, particularly the exclusion of six of nine presidential candidates and the...

Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the Council of Ministers. The king may dismiss ministers, dissolve parliament, and call for new elections. International and domestic observers judged the 2011 parliamentary elections credible and relatively free from irregularities. The Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) won a plurality of seats in the 2011 elections. As mandated by the constitution, the king chose the PJD to lead the governing coalition. The most significant continuing human rights problems...

Montenegro is a mixed parliamentary and presidential republic with a multiparty political system. Both the president and the unicameral parliament (the Assembly) are popularly elected. The president nominates, and parliament approves, the prime minister. On April 7, the country held presidential elections, which the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), through a limited observer mission, described as professionally and efficiently administered. The OSCE mission's final report noted, however, a blurring of the lines between state and party. With relatively close results...

Mongolia is a multi-party parliamentary democracy. In the June presidential elections, incumbent Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of the Democratic Party won reelection with 50.23 percent of the vote. The election was generally conducted in a free and fair manner in accordance with the constitution, but expert observers noted that some legal provisions prevented media from providing sufficient information to the voters. The Democratic Party holds a plurality of seats in Parliament and Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag leads a coalition government including the Justice Coalition (composed of the Mongolian...

Moldova is a republic with a form of parliamentary democracy. The constitution provides for a multiparty democracy with legislative and executive branches, as well as an independent judiciary and a clear separation of powers. Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral parliament. The Alliance for European Integration (AIE) coalition retained its parliamentary majority in the 2010 elections, which international observers stated met most Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe commitments. The collapse of the AIE coalition on February 13 after...

Mexico is a multi-party federal republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. On July 1, 2012, citizens elected President Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to a six-year term in generally free and fair multi-party elections; Pena Nieto took office December 1, 2012. Although authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces, there were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control and committed human rights abuses. Significant human rights-related problems included police and...

Mauritania is a highly centralized Islamic republic with a president as head of state who governs under a constitution based on a combination of French civil law and sharia. The Senate and National Assembly exercise legislative functions. Voters elect municipal councilors, who then elect Senate members. The legislative bodies were weak relative to the executive. The 2009 election of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz as president ended a political crisis caused by Aziz' 2008 coup d'etat against former president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. International observers declared the 2009 presidential election...

Mali is a constitutional democracy. On August 28, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won the presidential election, deemed free and fair by international observers, and took office on September 4. This ended a 16-month transitional period following the March 2012 military coup that ousted the former democratically elected president, Amadou Toumani Toure. The election of a democratic government and the arrest of coup leader Amadou Sanogo restored some civilian control over the military. Authorities, however, failed at times to maintain effective control over the security forces, and individual units...

The Republic of Maldives is a multi-party constitutional democracy. In 2008 Parliament ratified a new constitution that provided for the first multi-party presidential elections. Following events in early 2012 that included violent protests and charges of presidential abuse of power, President Mohamed Nasheed stepped down in February, and Vice President Mohamed Waheed became head of state. A Commission of National Inquiry concluded that no coup had occurred but cited credible cases of police misconduct and called for strengthening democratic institutions. On September 7, the country held...

Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy. It has a parliamentary system of government selected through periodic, multi-party elections and headed by a prime minister. The king is the head of state and serves a largely ceremonial role; the kingship rotates among the nine sultans every five years. The United Malays National Organization (UMNO), together with a coalition of political parties known as the National Front (BN), has held power since independence in 1957. On May 5, in general elections, the BN was re-elected although it lost the popular vote to the opposition coalition. The...