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GovernmentCountry name
Conventional long form
Democratic Republic of the Congo Conventional short form DRCLocal long form Republique Democratique du Congo Local short form RDCFormer Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire Abbreviation DRCGovernment type
Republic
Capital
Name Kinshasa
Geographic coordinates 4 19 S, 15 18 E Time difference UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) Administrative divisions
10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo (Lower Congo), Equateur, Kasai-Occidental (West Kasai), Kasai-Oriental (East Kasai), Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu (North Kivu), Orientale, Sud-Kivu (South Kivu) Note According to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current administrative divisions were to be subdivided into 26 new provinces by 2009 but this has yet to be implemented Independence
30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Constitution
18 February 2006
Legal system
Civil legal system based on Belgian version of French civil law International law organization participation
Accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction 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 Augustin Matata PONYO Mapon (since 18 April 2012) Cabinet Ministers of State appointed by the president Elections Under the new constitution the president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 28 November 2011 (next to be held on November 2016); prime minister appointed by the president Election results Joseph KABILA reelected president; percent of vote - Joseph KABILA 49%, Etienne TSHISEKEDI 32.3%, other 18.7%; note - election marred by serious voting irregularities 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 a run-off on 29 October 2006 confirming Joseph KABILA as president Legislative branch
Bicameral legislature consists of a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial assemblies to serve five-year terms) and 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) Elections Senate - last held on 19 January 2007 (next to be held on 5 June 2013); National Assembly - last held on 28 November 2011 (next to be held in 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, independents 26, others 18 (political parties that won a single seat); 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, independents 16, others 214 (includes numerous political parties that won 10 or fewer seats and 2 constituencies where voting was halted); note - the November 2011 elections were married by violence including the destruction of ballots in two constituencies resulting in the closure of polling sites; election results were delayed three months, stongly contested, and continue to be unresolved Judicial branch
Constitutional Court; Appeals Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court; plus civil and military courts and tribunals 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 the Congolese Nation or UNC [Vital KAMERHE]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU Nzanga] Political pressure groups and leaders
FARDC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo) - Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo which commits atrocities on citizens; FDLR (Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda) - Rwandan militia group made up of some of the perpetrators of Rwanda's Genocide in 1994; CNDP (National Congress for the Defense of the People) - mainly Congolese Tutsis who want refugees returned and more representation in government International organization participation
ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in the us
Chief of mission Ambassador Faida MITIFU
Chancery Suite 601, 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036 Telephone [1] (202) 234-7690 through 7691 FAX [1] (202) 234-2609Diplomatic representation from the us
Chief of mission Ambassador James F. ENTWISTLE
Embassy 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa Mailing address Unit 31550, APO AE 09828Telephone [243] (81) 225-5872 FAX [243] (81) 301-0561 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 anthem
Name
"Debout Congolaise" (Arise Congolese) Lyrics/music Joseph LUTUMBA/Simon-Pierre BOKA di Mpasi Londi Note Adopted 1960; the anthem was replaced during the period in which the country was known as Zaire, but was readopted in 1997
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Democratic Republic Of The Congo (Kinshasa):
GPS points from Democratic Republic Of The Congo (Kinshasa)
Ntite Province Du Kasai-oriental
Lusambilo Province Du Katanga
Bena-gandu Province Du Kasai-occidental
Kinganga Province Du Bas-congo
Baranga Democratic Republic Of The Congo (general)
Tombi Province Du Kasai-occidental
Kamiro Democratic Republic Of The Congo (general)
Johnston Falls Democratic Republic Of The Congo (general) |