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United Nations Mission |
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Direct elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo occur for the Presidency, National Assembly (lower house of the legislature), and provincial assemblies. The Senate (the upper house), and provincial governors are elected indirectly by members of the provincial assemblies.
Electoral law also provides for the direct election of local councils—commune, sector, and chiefdom—as well as indirect elections for city mayors, city councils, commune burgomasters, and sector chiefs. None of these were held in the first three election cycles under the current system. In the current cycle, as of April 2024, only the election of a limited number of commune councils has occurred.
These elections are run by the Independent National Electoral Commission, often referred to by its French acronym CENI. New elections should be run every five years.
The 1960 elections, held just before independence, saw Patrice Lumumba become prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu president. In 1965 Mobutu Sese Seko seized power and declared himself president amid the Congo Crisis. He was formally elected to a seven-year term in 1970. Establishing the single-party Republic of Zaire, his presidency was renewed by show elections in 1977 and 1984 while legislative elections were abolished altogether by 1975. Mobutu ruled until 1997 when Laurent Kabila seized power after the First Congo War. When Laurent Kabila was killed in 2001, his son Joseph Kabila took over the presidency while the country was going through the Second Congo War (1998–2003). The Second Congo War was officially declared over in 2003. The period that followed was relatively peaceful, with the United Nations' largest peacekeeping force maintaining the peace. However, the Ituri Conflict marred the peace, with periods of violence in the northeastern Ituri Province. In December 2005 a referendum on a new constitution was held. It was approved, paving way for the first multiparty elections in 46 years.
The first multi-party elections in the country since 1960 took place in July 2006. Kabila was elected president and was reelected in 2011. His constitutionally-mandated term ended in 2016, but the government put off a new election, citing logistical problems and the ongoing conflict in the eastern DRC. The long delayed general election finally took place on 30 December 2018, which resulted in a surprise victory for Félix Tshisekedi, although this was questioned by election observers and led to accusations of voter fraud by another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu. The Constitutional Court of the DRC dismissed Fayulu's challenge of the result, confirming Tshisekedi as the winner. Joseph Kabila stepped down in January 2019, with Tshisekedi being inaugurated as the 5th President of the DRC on January 24. This was the first democratic transition of power in the country since it gained independence in 1960. Tshisekedi was reelected with a large majority in December 2023, coming ahead of Moise Katumbi and Fayulu.
Public start | Election day | Election | Type | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 Feb | 29 Apr | Senate and gubernatorial | indirect | Result validation |
1 Feb | 2 May | South Kivu governor runoff | indirect | Result validation |
1 Feb | 24 May | Equateur senators and governor | indirect | Result validation |
1 Feb | 24 May | Ituri senators | indirect | Result validation |
5 Apr | 26 May | Mai-Ndombe and North Kivu senators | indirect | Result validation |
5 Apr | 26 May | Mai-Ndombe governor | indirect | Result validation |
24 Apr | 19 Jun | Commune burgomasters and city councils | indirect | Indefinately delayed |
11 Jun | 12 Jul | Yakoma and Masimanimba national and provincial deputies do-over | direct | UNKOWN |
26 Jul | 7 Sep | City mayors | indirect | |
TBD | TBD | Kwilu and Nord-Ubangi senators and governors | indirect |
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
transition; Last update August 1, 2006
The earliest known human settlements in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been dated back to the Middle Stone Age, approximately 90,000 years ago. The first real states, such as the Kongo, the Lunda, the Luba and Kuba, appeared south of the equatorial forest on the savannah from the 14th century onwards.
Politics of the Democratic Republic of Congo take place in the framework of a republic in transition from a civil war to a semi-presidential republic.
Joseph Kabila Kabange is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila in the context of the Second Congo War. He was allowed to remain in power after the 2003 Pretoria Accord ended the war as the president of the country's new transitional government. He was elected as president in 2006 and re-elected in 2011 for a second term. Since stepping down after the 2018 election, Kabila, as a former president, serves as a senator for life.
Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba was a Congolese politician and the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), formerly the main opposition political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A long-time opposition leader, he served as Prime Minister of the country on three brief occasions: in 1991, 1992–1993, and 1997. He was also the father of the current President, Felix Tshisekedi.
The Movement for the Liberation of the Congo is a political party in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Formerly a rebel group operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo that fought the government throughout the Second Congo War, it subsequently took part in the transitional government and is one of the main opposition parties.
The Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecôte, or commonly referred to as the Stade des Martyrs, is the national stadium of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the Kinshasa commune of the capital Kinshasa. With a seating capacity of 80,000, it is the largest stadium in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the fourth-largest stadium in Africa. It serves as the home stadium for the Congolese football national team, Association Sportive Vita Club, and Daring Club Motema Pembe, making it the largest multifunctional venue in the country.
The Union for Democracy and Social Progress is a major political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Founded in 1982, amid the one-party rule of Mobutu Sese Seko and his Popular Movement of the Revolution, it is the country's oldest existing party. During the presidency of Joseph Kabila, it was the largest opposition party in the country. The party identifies as social democratic.
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). After he served as Deputy Prime Minister of Defense 2023 to 2024, he was moved to the Deputy Prime Minister of Transportation. He was previously one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2006. He led the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), a rebel group turned political party. He received the second-highest number of votes in the 2006 presidential election. In January 2007, he was elected to the Senate.
General elections were held in Democratic Republic of the Congo on 28 November 2011; a facultative run-off on 26 February 2012 was shelved with a change in election laws.
Lemba is one of the 24 communes that are the administrative divisions of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Frédéric Kibassa Maliba was a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Kibassa held the positions of Deputy Minister of Mines and then Minister of Mines in the Laurent-Désiré Kabila government. He was accused of misappropriating funds in June 2000, while he was Minister of Mines.
Senate elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 14 March 2019 to elect the 108 Senators. Former DRC President Joseph Kabila, who stepped down from office in January 2019 following the inauguration of the recently elected Félix Tshisekedi, has also joined the upper house of the legislature as a senator for life, for a total of 109 seats.
General elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 30 December 2018, to determine a successor to President Joseph Kabila, as well as for the 500 seats of the National Assembly and the 715 elected seats of the 26 provincial assemblies. Félix Tshisekedi (UDPS) won with 38.6% of the vote, defeating another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, backed by the ruling party PPRD. Fayulu alleged that the vote was rigged against him in a deal made by Tshisekedi and outgoing President Kabila, challenging the result in the DRC's Constitutional Court. Different election observers, including those from the country's Roman Catholic Church, also cast doubt on the official result. Nonetheless on 20 January the Court rejected his appeal and declared Tshisekedi as the winner. Parties supporting President Kabila won the majority of seats in the National Assembly. Félix Tshisekedi was sworn in as the 5th President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 24 January 2019, making it the first peaceful transition of power in the country since it became independent from Belgium in 1960.
Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo is a Congolese politician who has been the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 24 January 2019. He is the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the DRC's oldest and largest party, succeeding his late father Étienne Tshisekedi in that role, a three-time Prime Minister of Zaire and opposition leader during the reign of Mobutu Sese Seko. Tshisekedi was the UDPS party's candidate for president in the December 2018 general election, which he was awarded, despite accusations of irregularities from several election monitoring organisations and other opposition parties. The Constitutional Court of the DRC upheld his victory after another opposition politician, Martin Fayulu, challenged the result, but Tshisekedi has been accused of making a deal with his predecessor, Joseph Kabila. The election marked the first peaceful transition of power since the state became independent from Belgium in 1960.
Martin Madidi Fayulu is a Congolese politician. He is the leader of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party.
Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge is a Congolese politician from the former Katanga Province who served as Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2021 to 2024. He announced his first cabinet on 12 April 2021. He is a member of the Future of Congo party.
General elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 20 December 2023. Combined elections were held for the President, 484 of the 500 members of the National Assembly, 700 of the 716 elected members of the 26 provincial assemblies, and for the first time under the new constitution, 951 members of a scaled down number of commune (municipal) councils. On election day, the Congolese government extended voting to 21 December for polling stations that had not opened on 20 December. Agence France-Presse reported that some polling stations would open as late as 24 December.
Senate elections will take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024 to renew the 108 elected members of the Senate elected by indirect ballot by the members of the 26 provincial assemblies. The elections will take place in four parts. The election of the 84 senators representing Kinshasa and 19 provinces will be held 29 April at the same time as the gubernatorial elections. This is followed by the election of the senators of Equateur and Ituri on 24 May, and on 26 May those of Mai-Ndombe and North Kivu for a total of 16 senators. The election of the last 8 senators will be scheduled after the July elections to complete the provincial assemblies of Kwilu and Nord-Ubangi.
Gubernatorial elections will take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024 to elect the governors and vice-governors of Kinshasa and the 23 provinces not under state of siege. A candidate governor and vice-governor are elected together on one ticket by indirect ballot by the members of the provincial assembly using a two-round system were the second round is used to select between the top two tickets of the first round if no ticket gets an absolute majority.
Guy Kabombo Muadiamvitaet Mireille Malengele Kuzoma is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He has served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Defense since 12 June 2024. He served as the director general of the Official Journal of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.