Congo
National Assembly
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Presidential-Parliamentary
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Bicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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Yes
Notes: Non-participating Member (all rights suspended)
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
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Election date(s)
The date when elections started and ended for directly or indirectly elected parliaments/chambers. The date of appointments for appointed parliaments/chambers.
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16 Jul 2017 to 30 Jul 2017
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Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature
Date at which the previous legislature (elected at the previous elections) was dissolved.
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No information available
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Timing of election
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry; Early elections; Delayed elections
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Upon normal expiry
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Number of seats at stake
Number of seats contested at the elections. Where the parliament/chamber is fully renewed, this number is usually identical to the statutory number of members. Where the parliament/chamber is partially renewed or appointed, the number of seats at stake is usually less than the total number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
151
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Scope of elections
Scope of elections: Full renewal; Partial renewal.
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Full renewal
Candidates
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Total number of candidates
Total number of people who registered as candidates for election. Does not include people who stood as candidates to become "substitute members".
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711
- The number of women candidates is not available from authoritative sources.
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Yes
Voter turnout
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Registered voters
Number of people registered to vote
View field in the data dictionary -
2,221,596
Results
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About the election
Short description of the context and results of the election.
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President Denis Sassou-Nguesso's Congolese Workers Party (PCT) retained a comfortable majority in the 151-member National Assembly (see note 1), taking 91 seats. The main opposition, the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS), led by Mr. Pascal Tsaty Mabiala, took eight seats. 20 independent candidates were elected. They belong to the Union of Humanist Democrats" (UDH-Yuki), led by Mr. Guy-Brice Parfait Kolélas (who came second in the 2016 presidential elections.
The Movement for Unity, Solidarity, and Work (MUST), led by former Minister of Trade and presidential candidate Ms. Claudine Munari, boycotted the 2017 elections, arguing that President Sassou-Nguesso's re-election in 2016 was illegitimate (see note 2) and that it would be improper to hold an election while the Pool region was suffering from renewed fighting. This call was echoed by another opposition coalition comprising the Initiative for Democracy in Congo and the Republican Front for the Respect of Constitutional Order and Democratic Alternation (FROCAD/IDC) and the “Composante Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko” (CJ3M). Two leaders of the CJ3M - former General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and MP André Okombi Salissa - were arrested in June 2016 and in January 2017 and charged with "threatening the internal security of the state".
Note 1:
The statutory number of members of the National Assembly increased from 139 to 151 following amendments to the electoral law in April 2017, which created new constituencies in several departments. Elections in nine constituencies in the Pool Department did not take place in 2017 due to security reasons. In accordance with a ministerial decision of July 2017, the parliamentary mandate of nine outgoing members representing the Pool Department (as well as the senators whose terms end in 2017) has been extended until new elections are held. Of these nine members, five belong to the Congolese Workers Party (PCT), giving it 96 seats in all, and four belong to the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integrated Development (MCDDI) which did not win parliamentary representation in 2017.
Note 2:
President Sassou-Nguesso, who first seized power in a 1979 coup and became President again in 1997 following a civil war) was constitutionally to be barred from running in the 2016 elections due to the two-term limit stipulated in the 2002 Constitution. A new Constitution was adopted in a referendum in 2015, providing for a three-term limit of a five-year presidency (instead of seven previously) and removing the upper age limit (70 years), paving the way for the incumbent to seek a new term in 2016.
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Number of parties winning seats
The number of parties which won parliamentary representation in the given election.
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19
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Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition
The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of seats won by the largest party by the number of seats at stake in the election.
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63.6%
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Alternation of power after elections
The results of the elections caused a change in the government. "Not applicable" to countries using the presidential system when parliamentary and presidential elections are held separately, to countries in political transition or where there is no party system.
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No
Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group | Total | Pool |
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Congolese Workers Party (PCT) | 96 | 5 |
Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS) | 8 | - |
Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI) | 4 | 4 |
Action & Renewal Movement (MAR) | 3 | - |
Rally for Democracy and Social Progress (RDPS) | 3 | - |
Republican Dynamics for Development (DRD) | 3 | - |
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) | 2 | - |
CRDP | 1 | - |
Citizens' Rally (RC) | 1 | - |
Club 2002 - Party for the Unity of the Republic (PUR) | 1 | - |
Patriotic Front (FP) | 1 | - |
Union of Democratic Forces (UFD) | 1 | - |
La Chaîne | 1 | - |
Movement for Democracy and Progress (MDP) | 1 | |
Party for Agreement and Political Action (PCAP) | 1 | - |
Congress for Democracy and the Republic (CDR) | 1 | - |
Party for Unity, Freedom and Progress (Pulp) | 1 | - |
Republican Liberal Party (PRL) | 1 | - |
National Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MNLC) | 1 | - |
Independents | 20 | - |
Members elected, by sex
- Number of men elected
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134
- Number of women elected
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17
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Percentage of women elected
The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected by the number of seats filled.
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11.3%
- Women Directly Elected
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17
- Other notes on the elections
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Note on the Distribution of seats
"Pool" refers to the nine members representing the Pool Department whose term has been extended until new elections are held (see note 1).
- Sources
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National Assembly (23.08.2017, 24.08.2017, 05.09.2017)
Agence d'Information d'Afrique Centrale
Ici Brazza
Jeune Afrique
Africa News
BBC
France 24
La Semaine Africaine
News 24
New legislature
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Total number of men after the election
The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
View field in the data dictionary -
134
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Total number of women after the election
The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
View field in the data dictionary -
17
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Percentage of women after the election
The percentage is calculated by dividing the total number of women in this parliament/chamber by the current number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
11.3%
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First-term parliamentarians
The number of members who are assuming their parliamentary mandate for the first time following the election or renewal, regardless of their mode of designation.
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87
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Percentage of first-term parliamentarians
The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of first-term parliamentarians by the number of seats at stake in the election.
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57.6%
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Date of the first session
The date when the newly elected parliament/chamber was convened for the first time. It may be different from the date when members were sworn in.
View field in the data dictionary -
19 Aug 2017
First Speaker of the new legislature
- Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature
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Isidore Mvouba (Male)
Date of birth: 14 Apr 1949 -
Political party
The political party to which the Speaker belonged to at the moment of the election. In some parliaments, the Speaker suspends or relinquishes their party membership during their term in office and is considered as an independent member.
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Congolese Workers Party (PCT)
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Date of election
The date of the election of the Speaker may be different from the date of the first session of the new legislature.
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19 Aug 2017