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Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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.

History

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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.

Upcoming elections

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2024 Election schedule and status as of 23 October 2024[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Public
start 		Election
day 		Election Type Status
1 Feb 29 Apr Senate and gubernatorial indirect  Y
1 Feb 2 May South Kivu governor runoff indirect  Y
1 Feb 24 May Equateur senators and governor indirect  Y
1 Feb 24 May Ituri senators indirect  Y
5 Apr 26 May Mai-Ndombe and North Kivu senators indirect  Y
5 Apr 26 May Mai-Ndombe governor indirect  Y
24 Apr 19 Jun Commune burgomasters and city councils indirect Indefinately delayed after candidate registration
26 Jul 7 Sep City mayors indirect Indefinately delayed
14 Nov 15 Dec Yakoma and Masimanimba national and provincial deputies do-over direct Campaign in progress
TBD TBD Kwilu and Nord-Ubangi senators and governors indirect

Elections of the 4th cycle (2023–2028)

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Main articles: 2023 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election and 2024 Democratic Republic of the Congo Senate election

Presidential election

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National Assembly elections

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Provincial assembly elections

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Senate elections

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Gubernatorial elections

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See also

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transition; Last update August 1, 2006

References

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  1. ^ CENI (4 April 2024). "Communique de presse N° 020/CENI/2024" (PDF). ceni.cd (Press release) (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. ^ CENI (15 April 2024). "Communique de presse N° 022/CENI/2024" (PDF). ceni.cd (Press release) (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  3. ^ CENI (25 April 2024). "Communique de presse N° 026/CENI/2024" (PDF). ceni.cd (Press release) (in French). Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  4. ^ Timolo, Héritier (27 April 2024). "Ituri : La CENI reporte les élections sénatoriales prévues le 29 avril 2024". Le Potentiel (in French). Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. ^ Boasi, Melis (2 May 2024). "Sud-Kivu : Jean-Jacques Purusi élu Gouverneur au second tour". Le Potentiel (in French). Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  6. ^ CENI (6 May 2024). "Communique de presse N° 032/CENI/2024" (Press release) (in French). Retrieved 7 May 2024 – via Facebook.
  7. ^ CENI (6 May 2024). "Communique de presse N° 033/CENI/2024" (Press release) (in French). Retrieved 7 May 2024 – via Facebook.
  8. ^ CENI (1 June 2024). "Communique de presse N° 043/CENI/2024" (Press release) (in French). Retrieved 2 June 2024 – via Facebook.
  9. ^ CENI (13 June 2024). "Communique de presse N° 044/CENI/2024" (Press release) (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via Facebook.
  10. ^ "Les élections législatives nationales et provinciales à Masimanimba et Yakoma programmées au 15 décembre". Radio Okapi (in French). 2 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Réorganisation des législatives à Masimanimba et Yakoma : la campagne électorale est lancée". Radio Okapi (in French). 14 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
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