List of African Union member states by political system

Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy, in which the king or queen serves a largely ceremonial function; he no longer possesses any executive authority and is proscribed from actively participating in political initiatives.

In several other African states there are subnational monarchs, but only a select few are vested with constitutional and\or legal powers, and therefore the majority of them are little more than traditional notables in practice.

The Ashanti Confederacy in Ghana is led by Asantehene (King) Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II; the succession is decided by a series of councils of local nobles and other royal family members.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the various traditional polities that currently exist are politically defined by way of the ceding of definite authority from the provincial governments, which in turn receive their powers to do so from a series of chieftaincy laws that have been legislatively created.

Beyond this, residual powers are also derived by the Nigerian traditional rulers from both pre-existing customary laws and the remnants of the indirect rule policy of the colonial era.

The function and form of the houses vary widely; some are directly elected, others indirectly or appointed, some have legal provisions for minority representation, based either on ethnicity, religious affiliation, or gender.