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Political Parties - 2019 Assembly

Political parties in the DRC are extremely weak. During the democratic awakening of the early 1990s, President Mobutu initiated the practice of protecting his power by encouraging the proliferation of political parties, and the country continues to have an excessive number of parties today. Democratic Republic of the Congo has a bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consisting of the Senate (Sénat) with 108 seats and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 500 seats.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a semi-presidential republic. The President is directly elected through a First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system for a 5-year term that is renewable only once. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, usually from the majority party or coalition in the National Assembly.

In the Senate (Sénat) 108 members are indirectly elected by provincial assemblies through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms. In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), there are 62 single member constituencies and 438 multi-member constituencies. In single-member constituencies, the winner is decided by simple majority via FPTP. In multi-member constituencies (two or more seats), a single vote is cast for open proportional representation lists. All members of the National Assembly serve 5-year terms.

The CENI announced 12 January 2019 results in legislative elections favorable pro-Kabila parties. A result which means that the new president Felix Tshisekedi should cohabit with a Prime Minister from the current majority. Defeated in the presidential election, the majority in favor of President Joseph Kabila and his allies retain a majority in the National Assembly in Congo , according to a count of the results, announced 12 January 2019 by the National Electoral Commission independent (Ceni). The pro-Kabila parties exceed the threshold of 250 seats out of 500 in total, according to this count based on the statement of the names of elected deputies and the name of their political party or grouping given without further clarification by the CENI.

"Today, we will announce the results of 485 elected, the others, 15 seats for Beni-territory deputies, Beni-city, Butembo and Yumbi, we will know their names in the March elections," said the president. of Ceni, Corneille Nangaa, the general elections of December 30 have been postponed in these three regions officially for reasons of security and health (Ebola in Beni-Butembo).

The Presidential Majority, which has just received more than 350 votes in the last legislative elections, will be the largest political force in the future National Assembly. The presidential majority does not sulk his pleasure. After the publication of the provisional results of the legislative, national and provincial elections, it turns out to be the largest political force in the future National Assembly with more than 350 votes. The new National Assembly will be installed on Jan. 26 with a small group of members who will then validate the 500 deputies, the majority of whom belong to Kabila's Common Front for Congo party.

The parliamentary majority retained by the handful of parties in Kabila's coalition will curtail Tshisekedi's room for maneuver. Under the constitution, the majority enjoys significant powers and the president must appoint his prime minister from its ranks. The prime minister, in turn, must countersign presidential orders appointing or dismissing military chiefs, judges and heads of state-owned enterprises.