Democratic Republic of the Congo

National Assembly

Political system: Presidential-Parliamentary
Structure of parliament: Bicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Background

Election date(s): 28 Nov 2011
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: No information available
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Number of seats at stake: 500
Scope of elections: Full renewal

Candidates

Total number of candidates: -

Notes: Over 18,800 candidates
The number of candidates is not available from authoritative sources.: Yes
The number of women candidates is not available from authoritative sources.: Yes

Voter turnout

Registered voters: 32,024,640

Results

About the election: On 30 April 2011, the Independent National Election Commission (CENI) announced that parliamentary and presidential elections would be held on 28 November.

In the previous elections held in July 2006, the Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP) - a coalition led by President Joseph Kabila - took close to 200 seats, including 111 seats won by his People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD). The Union for the Nation (UN) alliance - another coalition led by outgoing Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo - took nearly 100 seats, including 64 won by Mr. Bemba's Congo Liberation Movement (MLC).

In the run-off presidential elections held in October, President Kabila - who has been in power since January 2001 following the assassination of his father (Laurent) - triumphed over Mr. Bemba and was subsequently sworn in in December. Several parties that supported President Kabila in the run-offs subsequently joined the AMP. The latter comprised over 300 members before the newly elected National Assembly convened in late December. The National Assembly subsequently elected Mr. Vital Kamerhe, Secretary General of the PPRD, as its Speaker.

Indirect elections to the 108-member Senate were held in January 2007 and the newly-elected Senate was convened in February. The re-establishment of both chambers of parliament and the formation of a new government marked the end of the political transition process initiated in 2002.

In March 2009, Speaker Kamerhe resigned in protest over a joint DR Congo-Rwandan military operation against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), led by Hutu rebels. The Speaker had reportedly criticized the President for not having informed parliament about the military operation. Mr. Evariste Boshab succeeded him both as PPRD leader and Speaker of the National Assembly in April. Mr. Kamerhe subsequently formed the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC).

In June 2009, the International Criminal Court in The Hague indicted former Vice-President Bemba for war crimes allegedly committed by his troops in the Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.

In January 2011, the government proposed to review the electoral system for the presidency so that the President could be elected by a simple majority vote in one round, instead of an absolute majority vote with a possible run-off. Later the same month, the National Assembly and the Senate approved the proposal in a session boycotted by opposition members.

In 2011, over 18,800 candidates were vying for seats in the National Assembly. President Kabila was challenged by 10 other candidates, including veteran politician, Mr. Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) and former Speaker Kamerhe (UNC).

President Kabila's PPRD campaigned under the slogan, "Five building sites of the republic", referring to the government's infrastructure projects of rebuilding roads and power stations. He admitted that economic progress had been slow and urged voters to give him a new mandate to pursue his projects. Speaker Boshab called on voters to come out en masse to re-elect President Kabila. He also called on voters to give the President a parliamentary majority by supporting PPRD candidates and those fielded by other parties in the AMP.

The 78-year old UPDS leader, Tshisekedi, urged voters to support his party, stating he would only feel tired when democracy was established in his country. A former minister under late President Mobutu Sese Seko, Mr. Tshisekedi left the government in 1980 when President Mobutu decided to cancel all elections. Mr. Tshisekedi - Prime Minister between 1992 and 1993 during the Sovereign National Conference - has been a major opposition figure ever since. He boycotted the 2006 elections, having accused the government of election fraud. In 2011, the UPDS denounced fraud and irregularities in voter lists. Mr. Tshisekedi accused the incumbent President of using State funds and staff for his election campaigning. He subsequently asked the CENI to invalidate the President's candidature. The CENI argued that, in the absence of a Constitutional Court, only the High Court of Justice was competent to deal with election-related disputes and sent the UPDS' petition to the High Court of Justice.

Former Speaker Kamerhe's UNC promised to develop the economy, qualifying the country as a "sleeping elephant" that would wake up "just like Brazil".

On 28 November, about 58 per cent of the 32 million registered voters turned out at the polls.

The Carter Center questioned the vote tabulation process, pointing out that some constituencies in Katanga province "reported impossibly high rates of 99 to 100% voter turnout with all, or nearly all, votes going to incumbent President Joseph Kabila". The African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community stated that the polling had been "successful".

On 9 December, the CENI announced that President Kabila was re-elected with 49 per cent of the votes. Mr. Tshisekedi (UPDS), who took 32 per cent of the votes, challenged the results.

On 17 December, the High Court of Justice validated the presidential election results. On 20 December, Mr. Kabila was sworn in for a second elected term.

The publication of parliamentary election results was postponed several times. On 1 February 2012, the CENI finally published preliminary results, which gave 62 seats to the PPDR. Together with other parties in the AMP, the President's camp took 260 seats. Opposition forces took around 110 seats. The UPDS became the largest opposition force with 41 seats and the UNC, 17 seats. In all, 50 women, including President Kabila's twin sister Jaynet, were elected.

On 16 February 2012, the National Assembly held its inaugural session. On 12 April, it elected Mr. Aubin Minaku, Secretary General of the PPDR, as its new Speaker. Mr. Augustin Matata Ponyo (PPDR) was appointed the new Prime Minister.
Number of parties winning seats: 98
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition: 34.4%
Alternation of power after elections: No

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group	Total
Others	172
People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD)	62
Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS)	41
People's Party for Peace and Democracy (PPPD)	29
Social Movement for Renewal (MSR)	27
Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC)	22
Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU)	19
Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC)	17
Independents	16
Alliance for Renewal in Congo (ARC)	16
Alliance of the Democratic Forces of Congo (AFDC)	15
Rally for the Reconstruction of Congo (RRC)	11
Awakening of Consciousness for Work and Development (ECT)	11
Movement for the Integrity of the People (MIP)	10
Christian Democratic Party (PDC)	7
Union for the Development of the Comoros (UPDC)	7
Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD)- Kisangani-Liberation Movement (K-ML)	6
National Union of Democratic Federalists (UNADEF)	6
Union of Nationalist Federalists of Congo (UNAFEC)	6

Members elected, by sex

Number of men elected: 448
Number of women elected: 44
Percentage of women elected: 8.9%
Women Directly Elected: 44
Other notes on the elections: Note on the distribution of seats:

A total of 98 political parties and 16 independent candidates won parliamentary representation in 2011.

The election commission published the distribution of seats for the 17 parties which won more than five seats as above.

From the remaining 81 parties, 45 of them won one seat each.
Sources: National Assembly (23.03.2012)

European Union, External Action, Election observation mission

New legislature

Total number of women after the election: 448
First-term parliamentarians: 400
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians: No information available
Date of the first session: 16 Feb 2012

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature: Aubin Minaku (Male)
Date of birth: 1964
Political party: People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD)
Date of election: 12 Apr 2012