Democratic Republic of the Congo

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Constitution President: Joseph Kabila Prime Minister: Antoine Gizenga Ministers Parliament Senate National Assembly Political parties Elections General: 2006 Senate: 2007 Governors: 2007 Constitutional Court Court of Cassation Subdivisions Provinces Territories MONUC Foreign relations Former institutions Vice Presidents Transitional Government Supreme Court

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The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: Président de la République démocratique du Congo, Swahili: Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, Lingala: Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki) , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" (Commander-in-Chief) of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC). The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to Wikisource has original text related to this article The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been changed and/or replaced several times Joseph Kabila Kabange (born June 4, 1971) known commonly as Joseph Kabila, became president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1=Premier-ministre de la République démocratique du Congo 1=Waziri Mkuu wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo 1=Minisele ya Antoine Gizenga (born 5 October 1925 is a Congolese (DRC politician who was Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from December 30 2006 to 10 October The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second institution in the central Executive branch of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the first The Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo consists of two chambers The Senate ( Upper Chamber) The The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The National Assembly is the lower house and main legislative political body of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This article details the various political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Multi-party elections in the DR Congo were held in July 2006 the first multi-party elections in the country since 1960 General elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on July 30, 2006, the first multiparty elections in the country in 46 years Elections to the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo were held on 2007-01-19, though they had originally been scheduled for 2007-01-16. Gubernatorial elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 27 January (with 2007-01-30 planned as a possible date for a second round The Constitutional Court (1= Cour Constitutionnelle) was established by the Constitution of the Third Republic on 18 February 2006 The Court of Cassation (1=Cour de cassation is the main court of Last resort in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Territorial Organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Reference: Executive Order 081 of July 8 1998 on administrative and territorial organisation in the RDC See also Subdivisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Article 2 of the 2005 Congolese Constitution which came into effect in February 2006 specifies twenty-five new provinces |||} See also Subdivisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are divided into 192 territories The Mission of the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC abbreviated MONUC (a French Acronym for M ission Its location in the center of Africa has made the Democratic Republic of the Congo a key player in the region since independence Following the end of the Second Congo War, and until December 6, 2006, transitional institutions were established comprising of the former warring parties as well The Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo was tasked with moving from the state riven by the Second Congo War (1998-2003 to a government based upon a Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Swahili (called Kiswahili in the language itself is the First language of the Swahili people (Waswahili who inhabit several large stretches The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state C D E A commander-in-chief is the Commander of a nation's Military forces or significant element of those forces The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo ( Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC is the state military organisation responsible

The position of President in the DRC has existed since the first constitution - known as The Fundamental Law - of 1960. However the powers of this position have varied over the years, from a limited shared role in the executive branch, with a prime minister, to a full-blown dictatorship. Under the current constitution, the President exists as the highest institution in a semi-presidential Republic. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been changed and/or replaced several times The semi-presidential system is a System of government in which a prime minister and a President are both active participants in the day-to-day administration

The current President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Joseph Kabila. Joseph Kabila Kabange (born June 4, 1971) known commonly as Joseph Kabila, became president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Latest election

Presidential powers

The semi-presidential system established by the constitution is largely borrowed from the French constitution. Although it is the prime minister and parliament that oversee much of the nation's actual lawmaking, the president wields significant influence, both formally and from constitutional convention. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. The Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo consists of two chambers The Senate ( Upper Chamber) The The president holds the nation's most senior office, and outranks all other politicians.

Perhaps the president's greatest power is his or her ability to choose the prime minister. However, since only the National Assembly has the power to dismiss the Prime Minister's gouvernement, the president is forced to name a prime minister that commands the support of the majority of this assembly. The National Assembly is the lower house and main legislative political body of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• When the majority of the Assembly has opposite political views to that of the president, this leads to political cohabitation. In that case, the president's power is diminished, since much of the de facto power relies on a supportive prime minister and National Assembly, and is not directly attributed to the post of president. Still, the constitutional convention is that the president directs foreign policy, though he must work on that matter with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
• When the majority of the Assembly sides with him, the President can take a more active role and may, in effect, direct government policy. The prime minister is then often a mere "fuse" — and can be replaced if the administration becomes unpopular.

Among the formal powers of the president:

Joseph Kabila, current President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• The president promulgates laws.
• The president has a very limited form of suspensive veto: when presented with a law, he or she can request another reading of it by Parliament, but only once per law.
• The president may also refer the law for review to the Constitutional Council prior to promulgation.
• The president may refer laws to popular referendum, within certain conditions.
• The president names certain high officials (with the assent of the cabinet).
• The president names certain members of the Constitutional Council.
• The president receives foreign ambassadors.
• The president may grant a pardon (but not an amnesty) to convicted criminals; the president can also lessen or suppress criminal sentences. This was of crucial importance when France still operated the death penalty: criminals sentenced to death would generally request that the president commute their sentence to life imprisonment.
• The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and thus heads the High Council on Defence.

Election

Under the 2006 constitution, the President of Democratic Republic of the Congo is directly elected to a five-year term - renewable only once - by universal suffrage. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been changed and/or replaced several times Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to The first President to have been elected under these provisions is Joseph Kabila, in the 2006 elections. Joseph Kabila Kabange (born June 4, 1971) known commonly as Joseph Kabila, became president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo General elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on July 30, 2006, the first multiparty elections in the country in 46 years

In the DRC, the president is elected by a Two-round system of voting, which ensures the elected President always obtains a majority of the vote. The two-round system (also known as the second ballot or runoff voting) is a Voting system used to elect a single winner If none of the candidates manage to receive the majority of the votes then the top two candidates in the election arrive at a run off. This allows smaller parties to have a greater impact on the outcome of elections, thus guaranteeing a multi-party system, as opposed to a two-party system.

After the president is elected, he goes through a solemn investiture ceremony. Investiture, from the Latin (preposition in and verb vestire, 'dress' from vestis 'robe' is a rather general term for the formal installation of an [1]

Requirements

Article 72 of the Congolese constitution states that the President must be a natural born citizen - or more accurately: French: citoyen d'origine - of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and at least 30 years of age. Natural-born citizen is a term used in some countries to describe a certain kind of Citizenship in terms of a requirement for eligibility to serve as Head of state French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Additionally, the President must be free of any legal constraints on their civil and political rights.

Article 10 of the same constitution defines citoyen d'origine as : "anyone belonging to the ethnic groups whose persons and territory constituted what became the Congo (currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo), at independence".

Succession

Articles 75 and 76 of the constitution state that upon the death or resignation of the President, the vacancy of the position is declared by the Constitutional court. An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death resignation or removal of its current occupant President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. The President of Argentina (full title President of the Argentine Nation, Spanish: Presidente de la Nación Argentina) is the Head of state The Austrian Federal President ( German language: Österreichischer Bundespräsident) is the federal Head of state of Austria. The presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as Constitutional President of the Republic of Brazil upon the incapacity resignation death or by judge trial The President of the People's Republic of China ( literally Chairman of the Chinese People's Republic or abbreviated Guójiā Zhǔxí 国家主席 literally State Chairman The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Président de la République démocratique du Congo Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the The President of Germany (deutscher Bundespräsident is Germany 's Head of state. The President of India or Rashtrapati ( Hindi: राष्ट्रपति a Sanskrit Neologism, lit The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. The President of the Republic of Korea is according to the Constitution head of state chief executive of the government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces The Constitutional Citizen President of the United Mexican States (the official title in Spanish is Ciudadano Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos The President of Pakistan ( Urdū: صدر Sadr-e-Mumlikat) is the Head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The presidential line of succession who may become or act as Constitutional President of the Republic of Peru upon the incapacity resignation death or by judge trial The President of the Philippines is the head of state and government of the Republic of the Philippines. The Acting President of the Republic of Poland ( Pełniący Obowiązki Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, shorter P The Portuguese presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as Constitutional President of the Portuguese Republic upon the incapacity The President of Romania is the Head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a Two-round system for a five-year term (since 2004 The presidential line of succession who may become or act as President of Sri Lanka upon the incapacity resignation or death of a current President The presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as President of the United States upon the incapacity death resignation or removal from office (by Impeachment The President of the Senate then becomes interim president. The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Independent Electoral Commission has to organize elections between sixty (60) and eighty (90) days after the official declaration of vacancy by the Constitutional court.

Other information

Palais de la Nation,
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

The official office of the president is the Palais de la Nation (Palace of the Nation) in Kinshasa. Kinshasa (formerly French: Léopoldville, formerly Dutch: Leopoldstad, German: Leopoldstadt) is the Capital

The official residence of the president is the Camp Tshatshi Palace in Kinshasa, although it has not been used since it was looted in 1997. Kinshasa (formerly French: Léopoldville, formerly Dutch: Leopoldstad, German: Leopoldstadt) is the Capital Other presidential residences include:

• the Palais de Marbre; it houses foreign official guests;
• the Domaine de la Rwindi in Goma, Nord-Kivu;

See also

Historical Leaders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

• • Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (List)
  • Heads of Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (List)
  • Colonial Heads of Congo
    • Rulers of Katanga
    • Rulers of Kuba
    • Rulers of Luba
    • Rulers of Ruund (Luunda)
    • Rulers of Kasongo Luunda (Yaka)
    • Rulers of Kongo
• Zaire

External links

• Official website of the President of the DRC