Papua New Guinea elects on the national level a legislature.
The National Parliament has 111 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies.
The first-past-the-post voting system was previously used, but in 2002 the limited instant-runoff voting system was enacted into law and first used during the 2007 national election and 2008 local elections.
The 20 provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District each elect a governor, who is also a representative in the parliament.
Lady Carol Kidu, after being elected as the only female Member of Parliament in the 2007 general election, called for seats to be reserved for women to improve the representation of women in Parliament.