Democratic Republic of the Congo: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: DRC local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: RDC former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DRC etymology: named for the Congo River, most of which lies within the DRC; the river name derives from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom that occupied its mouth at the time of Portuguese discovery in the late 15th century and whose name stems from its people the Bakongo, meaning "hunters" |
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| Government type | semi-presidential republic |
| Capital | Kinshasa
Kinshasa
geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 26 provinces (provinces, singular - province); Bas-Uele, Equateur, Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, Haut-Uele, Ituri, Kasai, Kasai-Central, Kasai-Oriental (East Kasai), Kinshasa, Kongo Central, Kwango, Kwilu, Lomami, Lualaba, Mai-Ndombe, Maniema, Mongala, Nord-Kivu (North Kivu), Nord-Ubangi (North Ubangi), Sankuru, Sud-Kivu (South Kivu), Sud-Ubangi (South Ubangi), Tanganyika, Tshopo, Tshuapa |
| Independence | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) |
| Constitution | several previous; latest adopted 13 May 2005, approved by referendum 18-19 December 2005, promulgated 18 February 2006; amended 2011 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system primarily based on Belgian law, but also customary, and tribal law |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Samy BADIBANGA Ntita (since 17 November 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Jose MAKILA, Leonard She OKITUNDU, Emmanuel RAMAZANI Shadary (since December 2016) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 November 2011 (originally scheduled for 27 November 2016 but rescheduled for April 2018); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Joseph KABILA reelected president; percent of vote - Joseph KABILA (PPRD) 49%, Etienne TSHISEKEDI (UDPS) 32.3%, other 18.7%; note - election marred by serious voting irregularities |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate (108 seats; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) and the National Assembly (500 seats; 439 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 61 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms) elections: Senate - last held on 19 January 2007 (follow-on elections have been delayed); National Assembly - last held on 28 November 2011 (next to be held on 27 November 2016) election results: 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, independent 26, other 18; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 62, UDPS 41, PPPD 29, MSR 27, MLC 22, PALU 19, UNC 17, ARC 16, AFDC 15, ECT 11, RRC 11, independent 16, other 214 (includes numerous political parties that won 10 or fewer seats and 2 constituencies where voting was halted); note - the November 2011 election was marred by violence including the destruction of ballots in two constituencies resulting in the closure of polling sites; election results were delayed three months, strongly contested, and continue to be unresolved |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (consists of 26 justices and organized into legislative and judiciary sections); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges nominated by the Judicial Service Council, an independent body of public prosecutors and selected judges of the lower courts; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges - 3 nominated by the president, 3 by the Judicial Service Council, and 3 by the legislature; judges appointed by the president to serve 9-year non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years subordinate courts: State Security Court; Court of Appeals (organized into administrative and judiciary sections); Tribunal de Grande; magistrates' courts; customary courts |
| 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 (Henri MOVA) Social Movement for Renewal or MSR (Pierre LUMBI) Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU (Antoine GIZENGA) Union for the Congolese Nation or UNC (Vital KAMERHE) Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS (Etienne TSHISEKEDI) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Allied Democratic Forces or ADF (anti-Ugandan government rebel groups) Forces Arm�es de la R�publique D�mocratique du Congo (Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) or FARDC Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda or FDLR (Rwandan militia group made up of some of the perpetrators of Rwanda's genocide in 1994) Le Rassemblement (established in 2016 as a coalition of members from several political parties) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, CEMAC, CEPGL, COMESA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Francois Nkuna BALUMUENE (since 23 September 2015) chancery: 1726 M Street, NW, Suite 601, Washington, DC, 20036 telephone: (1) (202) 234-7690 through 7691 FAX: (1) (202) 234-2609 representative office: New York New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James C. SWAN (since 6 August 2013) embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa, Gombe mailing address: Unit 2220, DPO AE 09828 telephone: (243) (081) 556-0151 FAX: (243) (081) 556-0175 |
| 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; blue represents peace and hope, red the blood of the country's martyrs, and yellow the country's wealth and prosperity; the star symbolizes unity and the brilliant future for the country |
| National symbol(s) | leopard; national colors: sky blue, red, yellow |
| National anthem | name: "Debout Congolaise" (Arise Congolese) lyrics/music: Joseph LUTUMBA/Simon-Pierre BOKA di Mpasi Londi note: adopted 1960; replaced when the country was known as Zaire; but readopted in 1997 |