| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Parliament / Parlement |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Sénat / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
30 July 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all seats in the National Assembly. |
After numerous postponements
landmark parliamentary elections were held on 30 July 2006 in parallel with presidential elections to replace the transitional power-sharing institutions set up in 2003. They were the first multiparty elections to be held in more than forty years.
Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange became President after his father
Mr. Laurent Kabila
was assassinated in January 2001. Under his presidency
numerous economic reforms were implemented in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
including liberalization of petroleum prices and the exchange rate and the adoption of new fiscal and monetary policies. Inflation dropped from more than 500 per cent to seven per cent
and the GDP growth rate surpassed five per cent in 2005.
In the 2006 elections
9
709 candidates contested 500 National Assembly seats and 33 presidential candidates stood for elections. President Kabila led a coalition comprising 30 parties called the Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP). The coalition pledged to rebuild the country and promote national reconciliation. His main rival
Mr. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo
the outgoing Vice-President in charge of the economy and finance
led the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC)
as part of the Union for the Nation (UN) alliance. He called on voters' support for his plans to reform governmental institutions and improve governance. Another Vice-President
Mr. Azarias Manywa Ruberwa
led the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD)
that also pledged to establish good governance. The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS)
led by veteran opposition figure Mr. Etienne Tshisekedi
had announced in April 2006 that it would boycott the polls
claiming a lack of transparency.
During the electoral campaign
violence continued in the eastern provinces bordering Rwanda
Burundi and Uganda. Some sporadic violent incidents were also reported involving opposition supporters and the Congolese police.
Approximately 25.4 million people were registered to vote.
More than 1
300 international observers
including 300 from the European Union Electoral Observer Mission in the DRC (EU EOM)
monitored the polls. A total of 17
000 troops from the United Nations Observer Mission (Monuc) and 2
000 European Union forces were deployed to ensure peaceful voting.
The EU EOM praised the high level of participation among citizens as well as the electoral commission's efforts to overcome the huge logistical challenges to the elections. It however noted weaknesses in the civic education programmes for voters.
Presidential election results were announced on 21 August 2006. President Kabila came in first with 44.81 per cent of the votes
followed by Mr. Jean- Bemba with 20.03 per cent. Five people were reportedly killed in Kinshasa prior to the announcement following exchanges of gunfire between supporters of both sides.
On 8 September
the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) published official preliminary results for the parliamentary elections. The People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD)
a main party of the AMP alliance
came in first with 111 seats. The AMP reportedly won around 200 seats. The main opposition MLC
led by Mr. Bemba
won 64 seats. Together with its allies
his camp reportedly secured around 100 seats. The RCD won 15 seats.
The newly-elected National Assembly held its first session on 22 September
under the presidency of its most senior member
Mr. Joseph Mbenza Thubi.
In the run-off presidential election on 29 October
President Kabila won 58 per cent of the votes. Mr. Bemba's challenge to the election results was rejected by the Supreme Court on 28 November
and he subsequently accepted defeat. On 6 December
Mr. Kabila was sworn in as President
becoming the first freely-elected president in more than four decades.
Mr. Vital Kamerhe
the Secretary General of the PPRD
was elected as Speaker of the National Assembly on 28 December. He was sworn in on 9 January 2007.
Indirect elections for the 108-member Senate were held on 21 January. The newly-elected Senate was convened on 3 February. The composition of the Government was announced on 5 February
headed by a Prime Minister
Mr. Antoine Gizenga
and comprising six senior ministers
34 ministers and 20 deputy ministers.
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.
Note:
A new Speaker of the Senate is expected to be elected in April 2007 after the adoption of new rules of procedure. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 30 July 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
25'420'199
17'868'580 (70.29%)
994'131
16'874'449 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) |
111
|
|
|
|
|
| Others |
100
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) |
64
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
63
|
|
|
|
|
| Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU) |
34
|
|
|
|
|
| Social Movement for Renewal (MSR) |
27
|
|
|
|
|
| Forces of Renewal |
26
|
|
|
|
|
| Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) |
15
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition of Congolese Democrats (CODECO) |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Convention of Christian Democrats (CDC) |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Union of Mobutist Democrats (UDEMO) |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| Camp of the Fatherland (CP) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Federalist Christian Democracy-Convention of Federalists for Christian Democracy (DCF-COFEDEC) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Christian Democratic Party (PDC) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Union of Nationalist Federalists of Congo (UNAFEC) |
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
458
42
8.40%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.cei-rdc.cd/
- National Assembly (12.04.2011) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
