The politics of Eritrea and the government of Eritrea take place in the framework of a single-party presidential republic currently under a totalitarian dictatorship. The President officially serves as both head of state and head of government. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the only political party legally permitted to exist in Eritrea. The popularly elected National Assembly of 150 seats, formed in 1993 shortly after independence from Ethiopia, elected the current president, Isaias Afwerki. There have been no general elections since its official independence in 1993. A new constitution was drafted in 1993 and ratified in 1997, but has not been implemented. Since the National Assembly last met in January 2002, president Afwerki has exercised the powers of both the executive and legislative branches of government.

Independent local sources of political information on Eritrean domestic politics are scarce; in September 2001 shut down all of the nation's privately owned print media. Additionally, the government arrested 11 members of its political opposition centred around the G-15 group. The group consisted of 15 senior officials from Eritrea's ruling party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, who authored an open letter in 2001 criticising President Isaias Afwerki. The letter condemned the President's actions as "illegal and unconstitutional" and called for democratic dialogue and reforms. They have been arrested and held without trial. In 2004 the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its alleged record of religious persecution.

The President nominates individuals to head the various ministries, authorities, commissions, and offices, and the National Assembly ratifies those nominations. The cabinet is the country's executive branch. It is composed of 18 ministries and chaired by the president. It implements policies, regulations, and laws and is, in theory, accountable to the National Assembly.

The Ministries are:

The legislature, the National Assembly appointed in 1993, includes:

Those elected by the general population must include 11 women and representation of 15 Eritreans not currently living in the state. The National Assembly is the highest legal power in the government until the establishment of a democratic, constitutional government. Within the Eritrean Constitution, the legislature would remain the strongest arm of the government. The legislature sets the internal and external policies of the government, regulates the implementation of those policies, approves the budget, and elects the president of the country. Its membership has not been renewed through national elections, and its latest session was in January 2002.

Lower Regional Assemblies are also in each of Eritrea's six zones. These Assemblies are responsible for setting a local agenda in the case that they are not overruled by the National Assembly. These Regional Assemblies are popularly elected within each region. Unlike the National Assembly, however, the Regional administrator is not selected by the Regional Assembly.

Eritrea is a single-party state run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). No other political groups are legally allowed to organize. The PFDJ's most recent party congress was held in January 2002, and its members have not met since.