Research Africa > East of Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Politics

Politics        0  720 reads

1) Government

 

Administrative divisions
 10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu
note; according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by 2009
Administrative divisions > Note
according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by 2009
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador

Anna-Liisa Korhonen

  
Capital city

Kinshasa

  
Capital city > Geographic coordinates

4 19 S, 15 18 E

  
Capital city > Name

Kinshasa

  
Capital city > Time difference
 UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution

18 February 2006

  
Corruption

2.1

[145th of 160]

CPIA equity of public resource use rating

3

[60th of 75]

CPIA quality of public administration rating

2.5

[52nd of 75]

Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission
Ambassador William GARVELINK
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy
310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX

[243] (81) 301-0561

  
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address

Unit 31550, APO AE 09828

  
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone

[243] (81) 225-5872

  
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery
1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009; note - Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission

Ambassador Faida MITIFU

  
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX

[1] (202) 234-2609

  
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone

[1] (202) 234-7690, 7691

  
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Address

18 Range Road

  
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Neighbourhood

Sandy Hill

  
Executive branch > A note
Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA; KABILA immediately assumed governing authority and pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but, in December 1998, announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA
Executive branch > Cabinet
Ministers of State appointed by the president
Executive branch > Chief of state
President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency which he retained through the 2003-06 transition; he was subsequently elected president in October 2006
Executive branch > Election results
Joseph KABILA elected president; percent of vote (second round) - Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42%
Executive branch > Elections
 under the new constitution the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president
Executive branch > Head of government
Prime Minister Adolphe MUZITO (since 10 October 2008)
Executive branch > Note
Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the latter's assassination in January 2001; negotiations with rebel leaders led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003 with free elections held on 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 confirming Joseph KABILA as president
Flag description
sky blue field divided diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper hoist corner
Flag modification

10

[134th of 197]

General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth

16.71 %

[5th of 147]

General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$

357,569,100 constant 2000 US$

[106th of 145]

    General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ (per capita)

6.784 constant 2000 US$ per c

[143rd of 146]

General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU

0.05

  
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU

279120700000

  
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$

588,976,500 $

[111st of 169]

    General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP)

0.083 $ per $1 of GDP

[132nd of 184]

    General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita)

10.234 $ per capita

[142nd of 184]

Government type

republic

  
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom

Andrew Sparkes

  
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type

Embassy

  
Independence
 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Independence Day > Date

June 30

  
International organization participation
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court; Appeals Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court; plus civil and military courts and tribunals
Legal system
a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly (500 seats; 61 members elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies, 439 members elected by open list proportional-representation in multi-member constituencies; to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial assemblies to serve five-year terms)
Legislative branch > Election results
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR 27, FR 26, RCD 15, independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political parties that won 10 or fewer seats); Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, independents 26, others 18 (political parties that won a single seat)
Legislative branch > Elections
 National Assembly - last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Senate - last held 19 January 2007 (next to be held by 2012)
Management time dealing with officials > % of management time

6.31 %

[16th of 38]

National holiday

Independence Day, 30 June

  
Parliamentary seats > Female

12%

[51st of 143]

Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint

5.34 %

[10th of 38]

political parties > Multi party

•

  
Political parties and leaders
Christian Democrat Party or PDC [Jose ENDUNDO]; Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias RUBERWA]; Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC; Forces of Renewal or FR [Mbusa NYAMWISI]; Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC [Jean-Pierre BEMBA]; People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or PPRD [Joseph KABILA]; Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI]; Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU Nzanga]
Political pressure groups and leaders
 MONUC - UN organization working with the government; FARDC (Forces Armees de la Republique du Congo) - Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo which commits atrocities on citizens; FDLA (Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda) - Rwandan militia group
Procedures to build a warehouse > number

14

[122nd of 168]

    Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita)

0.243 per 1 million people

[154th of 170]

Procedures to enforce a contract > number

51

[18th of 170]

    Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita)

0.886 per 1 million people

[138th of 171]

Procedures to register property > number

8

[32nd of 167]

    Procedures to register property > number (per capita)

139.013 per 1 billion people

[140th of 167]

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %

8.4 %

[135th of 174]

Secession attempts

Katanga

  
Start-up procedures to register a business > number

13

[32nd of 171]

    Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita)

0.226 per 1 million people

[144th of 171]

Status

transition

  
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Time required to build a warehouse > days

306 days

[21st of 168]

Time required to enforce a contract > days

685 days

[38th of 171]

Time required to register property > days

57 days

[71st of 167]

Time required to start a business > days

155 days

[5th of 171]

Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours

312 hours

[56th of 169]

Time to resolve insolvency > years

5.2 years

[15th of 151]

Total businesses registered > number

5,264

[66th of 71]

    Total businesses registered > number (per capita)

0.097 per 1 million people

[70th of 83]

Trademarks, nonresidents

397

[92nd of 99]

    Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita)

8.607 per 1 million people

[115th of 146]

Trademarks, residents

312

[70th of 98]

    Trademarks, residents (per capita)

6.764 per 1 million people

[109th of 142]

Transnational Issues > Disputes > International
 heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the region, including northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over 16,500 uniformed peacekeepers; members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces continue to seek refuge in Congo's Garamba National Park as peace talks with the Uganda government evolve; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area; Uganda and DROC dispute Rukwanzi island in Lake Albert and other areas on the Semliki River with hydrocarbon potential; boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda river claimed by Zambia near the DROC village of Pweto
UN membership date

20 Sep. 1960

  
United Nations mission
 http//www.un.int/drcongo
http//www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/kongidx.htm
Washington, D.C. embassies > Neighborhood

Kalorama Triangle

  

 

SOURCES All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; CIA World Factbook, 14 June, 2007 ; Wikipedia; List of Ambassadors from Finland ; Transparency International; World Development Indicators database; Wikipedia; List of embassies and high commissions in Ottawa ; CIA World Factbook, December 2003; Flagspot; Wikipedia; Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom ; Wikipedia; Independence Day ; United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook; Wikipedia; List of political parties ; "State Practice And International Law In Relation to unilateral Secession" by James Crawford, Whewell Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge, 19 February 1997. Available online via the Department of Justice, Canada; electionworld.org; Wisconsin High School Model United Nations; Wikipedia; List of Washington, D.C. embassies

 

ALTERNATIVE NAMES Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republique Democratique du Congo, congo (drc), congo (kinshasa), congo dr, congo-kinshasa, dem. rep. of the congo, zaire, Congo, Democratic Republic, Congo, Dem. Republic, Congo (Kinsasha), Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Dem. Rep. of the, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dem Rep. of the Congo, DRC Congo, DR Congo, Congo, Dem. Rep.

Democracy
 

Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Management Index 2006

2.47

[109th of 118]

Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Status Index 2006

2.62

[117th of 119]

Bertelsmann Transformation Index>Political Transformation

2.6

[114th of 119]

Civil and political liberties

2

[97th of 140]

CPIA gender equality rating

3

[51st of 75]

CPIA policies for social inclusion/equity cluster average

2.9

[61st of 75]

CPIA property rights and rule-based governance rating

2

[74th of 75]

CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average

2.3

[72nd of 75]

CPIA transparency, accountability, and corruption in the public sector rating

2

[72nd of 75]

Electoral system

first-past-the-post

  
Electoral system type

plurality

  
Female candidacy

1,963

[24th of 161]

Female ministers

12.1%

[64th of 125]

Female parliamentarians

12%

[71st of 157]

Female suffrage

1963

  
First female parliamentarian

1963 (elected)

  
Gender Parity Index in primary level enrolment

0.782574241721757

[169th of 183]

Homosexuality laws of the world > Homosexuality laws > Laws against homosexuality

No

  
Vote counting technology

manual

  

 

SOURCES Bertelsmann Transformation Index online, 2006; http;//www.bertelsmann-transformation-index.de/fileadmin/pdf/BTI_2006_Ranking_GB.pdf; Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2000-2001, New York; Freedom House, 2001; World Development Indicators database; No comment is being made on the state of democracy. Categorizations are based on the electoral law, or the last competitive election held; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 1995. Women in Parliaments 1945-1995; A World Statistical Survey. Geneva and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on year women received the right to vote and to stand for election and year first woman was elected or appointed to parliament. March. Geneva; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on women in government at the ministerial level. March. Geneva; calculated on the basis of data on parliamentary seats from IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2002. Parline Database. March 2002; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 1995. Women in Parliaments 1945-1995; A World Statistical Survey. Geneva and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on year women received the right to vote and to stand for election and year first woman was elected or appointed to parliament. March. Geneva.; Source; Millennium Development Goals Database | United Nations Statistics Division; Wikipedia; Homosexuality laws of the world ; Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

ALTERNATIVE NAMES Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republique Democratique du Congo, congo (drc), congo (kinshasa), congo dr, congo-kinshasa, dem. rep. of the congo, zaire, Congo, Democratic Republic, Congo, Dem. Republic, Congo (Kinsasha), Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Dem. Rep. of the, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dem Rep. of the Congo, DRC Congo, DR Congo, Congo, Dem. Rep.

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