DR C Politic

Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Politics of the Democratic Republic of Congo take place in a framework of a republic in transition from a civil war to a semi-presidential republic.

On 18 and 19 December 2005, a successful nationwide referendum was carried out on a draft constitution, which set the stage for elections in 2006. The voting process, though technically difficult due to the lack of infrastructure, was facilitated and organized by the Congolese Independent Electoral Commission with support from the UN mission to the Congo (MONUC). Early UN reports indicate that the voting was for the most part peaceful, but spurred violence in many parts of the war-torn east and the Kasais.

In 2006, many Congolese complained that the constitution was a rather ambiguous document and were unaware of its contents. This is due in part to the high rates of illiteracy in the country. However, interim President Kabila urged Congolese to vote ‘Yes’, saying the constitution is the country’s best hope for peace in the future. 25 million Congolese turned out for the two-day balloting.^[1][2] According to results released in January 2006, the constitution was approved by 84% of voters.

The new constitution also aims to decentralize authority, dividing the vast nation into 25 semi-autonomous provinces, drawn along ethnic and cultural lines.

The country’s first democratic elections in four decades were held on 30 July 2006.

How many political parties are in Congo?

As of 8 August 2017 there are 54 political parties legally operating in the Congo. On 15 December 2018 US State Department announced it had decided to evacuate its employees’ family members from Democratic Republic of Congo just before the Congolese elections to choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila.

What are the hospitals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

• The hospitals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo include the General Hospital of Kinshasa. DRC has the world’s second-highest rate of infant mortality (after Chad). In April 2011, through aid from Global Alliance for Vaccines, a new vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease was introduced around Kinshasa.

Which continent is the Democratic Republic of the Congo in?

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is located in central sub-Saharan Africa, bordered to the northwest by the Republic of the Congo, to the north by the Central African Republic, to the northeast by South Sudan, to the east by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, and by Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), to the south and southeast by Zambia, to the southwest by Angola, and to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean and the Cabinda Province exclave of Angola.

Is Congo at war?

• DR Congo is a vast country with immense economic resources and, until recently, has been at the centre of what some observers call “Africa’s world war“, with widespread civilian suffering the result. The war claimed an up to six million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition.