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class="container"> <div class="section text_post_block"> <h2 align="center" class="section_title section_title_big">Republic of Democratic Republic of the Congo</h2> <div> <div align="center"> <table width="65%" border="0" cellspacing="12" cellpadding="12"> <tr> <td width="33%"><div align="center"><a href="Index.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/Information@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> <td width="34%"><div align="center"><a href="Economy.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/Economy@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> <td width="33%"><div align="center"><a href="Geo.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/Geography@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><a href="Index.html">Basic</a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="Economy.html">Economy</a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="Geo.html">Geography</a></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><a href="Gov.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/Government@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="History1.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/History@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href=MILITARY.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/Military@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><a href="Gov.html">Government</a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="History1.html">History</a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="MILITARY.html">Military</a></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><a href="Population.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/People@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="Tourism.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/Tourism@2x.png" width="50" height="50"></a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="transportation.html"><img src="../NationByNationIcons/Transportation@2x.png" width="51" height="50"></a></div></td> </tr> <td><div align="center"><a href="Population.html">People</a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="Tourism.html">Tourism</a></div></td> <td><div align="center"><a href="transportation.html">Transportation</a></div></td> </table> </div> <div align="center"></div> <td width="445"> <p> </p> <h1 align="center">Government</h1> <div align="left"></div></td> </div> </div></div> <div class="container"> <p><br> <br> <strong>Country name</strong><br> conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo</p> <p>conventional short form: DRC</p> <p>local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo</p> <p>local short form: RDC</p> <p>former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire</p> <p>abbreviation: DRC (or DROC)</p> <p>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"</p> <p><strong>Government type</strong><br> semi-presidential republic</p> <p><strong>Capital</strong><br> name: Kinshasa</p> <p>geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E</p> <p>time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)</p> <p>time zone note: the DRC has two time zones</p> <p>etymology: founded as a trading post in 1881 and named Leopoldville in honor of King Leopold II of the Belgians, who controlled the Congo Free State, the vast central African territory that became the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1960; in 1966, Leopoldville was renamed Kinshasa, after a village of that name that once stood near the site</p> <p><strong>Administrative divisions</strong><br> 26 provinces (provinces, singular - province); Bas-Uele (Lower Uele), Equateur, Haut-Katanga (Upper Katanga), Haut-Lomami (Upper Lomami), Haut-Uele (Upper 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</p> <p><strong>Independence</strong><br> 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)</p> <p><strong>National holiday</strong><br> Independence Day, 30 June (1960)</p> <p><strong>Constitution</strong><br> history: several previous; latest adopted 13 May 2005, approved by referendum 18-19 December 2005, promulgated 18 February 2006</p> <p>amendments: proposed by the president of the republic, by the government, by either house of Parliament, or by public petition; agreement on the substance of a proposed bill requires absolute majority vote in both houses; passage requires a referendum only if both houses in joint meeting fail to achieve three-fifths majority vote; constitutional articles, including the form of government, universal suffrage, judicial independence, political pluralism, and personal freedoms, cannot be amended; amended 2011</p> <p><strong>Legal system</strong><br> civil law system primarily based on Belgian law, but also customary and tribal law</p> <p>International law organization participation<br> accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction</p> <p><strong>Citizenship</strong><br> citizenship by birth: no</p> <p>citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</p> <p>dual citizenship recognized: no</p> <p>residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years</p> <p><strong>Suffrage</strong><br> 18 years of age; universal and compulsory</p> <p><strong>Executive branch</strong><br> chief of state: President Felix TSHISEKEDI (since 24 January 2019)</p> <p>head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde KYENGE (since 15 February 2021); Deputy Prime Ministers Jose MAKILA, Leonard She OKITUNDU, Henri MOVA Sankanyi (since February 2018)</p> <p>cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president</p> <p>elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 30 December 2018 (next to be held in December 2023); prime minister appointed by the president</p> <p>election results: Felix TSHISEKEDI elected president; percent of vote - Felix TSHISEKEDI (UDPS) 38.6%, Martin FAYULU (Lamuka coalition) 34.8%, Emmanuel Ramazani SHADARY (PPRD) 23.9%, other 2.7%; note - election marred by serious voting irregularities</p> <p><strong>Legislative branch</strong><br> description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:<br> Senate (108 seats; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)</p> <p>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)</p> <p>elections: Senate - last held on 19 January 2007 (follow-on election has been delayed)<br> National Assembly - last held on 30 December 2018</p> <p>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, other 18, independent 26; composition - men 103, women 5, percent of women 4.6%</p> <p>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, other 214 (includes numerous political parties that won 10 or fewer seats and 2 constituencies where voting was halted), independent 16; composition - men 456, women 44, percent of women 8.8%; total Parliament percent of women 8.1%;note - the November 2011 election was marred by violence including the destruction of ballots in 2 constituencies resulting in the closure of polling sites; election results were delayed 3 months, strongly contested, and continue to be unresolved</p> <p><strong>Judicial branch</strong><br> highest courts: Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (consists of 26 justices and organized into legislative and judiciary sections); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)</p> <p>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</p> <p>subordinate courts: State Security Court; Court of Appeals (organized into administrative and judiciary sections); Tribunal de Grande; magistrates' courts; customary courts</p> <p>Political parties and leaders<br> Christian Democrat Party or PDC [Jose ENDUNDO]<br> Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias RUBERWA]<br> Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC<br> Engagement for Citizenship and Development or ECiDe [Martin FAYULU]<br> Forces of Renewal or FR [Mbusa NYAMWISI]<br> Lamuka coalition [Martin FAYULU] (includes ECiDe, MLC, Together for Change, CNB, and, Nouvel Elan)<br> Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC [Jean-Pierre BEMBA]<br> Nouvel Elan [Adolphe MUZITO]<br> Our Congo or CNB ("Congo Na Biso") [Freddy MATUNGULU]<br> People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or PPRD [Henri MOVA Sakanyi]<br> Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI]<br> Together for Change (Ensemble") [Moise KATUMBI]<br> Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]<br> Union for the Congolese Nation or UNC [Vital KAMERHE]<br> Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Felix TSHISEKEDI]</p> <p><br> Democratic Republic of the Congo United Workers Party or UWP [Lennox LINTON]</p> 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