 GOVERNMENT |
Type: Republic, highly centralized with legislative and executive power vested in the president.
Independence: June 30, 1960 (from Belgium).
Constitution: June 24, 1967; amended August 1974; revised February 15, 1978; amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated April 1994; draft constitution proposed March 1998, not yet finalized.
Branches: Executive--(chief of state) head of government. Cabinet--National Executive Council, a 26-member executive dominated by the Alliance des Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Congo-Zaire (AFDL) and appointed by the president. There is no prime minister. Legislative--The legislature has been suspended pending constitutional reform.
Judicial--Supreme Court (Cour Supreme).
Administrative subdivisions: Ten provinces and the capital city, Kinshasa. A provincial governor, who is appointed and dismissed by the president, administers each province.
Political parties: Ruling AFDL is comprised of Alliance Démocratique des Peuples (ADP), Parti Révolutionnaire du Peuple (PRP), Le Conseil National de la Résistance (CNR), and Le Mouvement Révolutionnaire pour la Libération du Congo-Zaire. The main opposition party is Union pour la Democratie et le Progres Social (UDPS). Militant rebel groups include the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD) and Le Mouvement pour La Libération du Congo (MLC).
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory.
Flag: Light blue with gold star in center and six smaller gold stars vertically aligned on the left edge.
POLITICAL LIFE AND INSTITUTIONS
Since the Constitution of 1967, revised in 1978, Zaïre, led by Mobutu Sese Seko, was characterized by a unique party and authoritarian presidencial system. After the students and oposants' manifestations in 1989 and 1990, Zaïre entered a caotic transition towards democracy. In april 1990, the president declared the end of mono-party. The following year, after new manifestations, sixty political parties were officially recognized and a National Conference was created in order to grant the country with a new constitution, which would be approved uppon referendum. In july 1994, a new pact beetween Mobutu and the opposition parties allowed the division of the powers beetween the president and a legislative institution, named "Hight Concel of the Republic" - Parliament of Transition.
After his putsch, in may 1997, Laurent-Désiré Kabila disolved all the existing institutions and created a government formed of his kin, holding legislative and executive powers on his own. He announced the creation of a new institution which would work on a new constitution for 1998, as well as legislative and presidential elections for april 1999. These elections were never held until Kabila's death in januray 2001. His son, General Major Joseph Kabila has been proclaimed president at his death.
| NATIONAL HYMN: " Le Debout Congolais"
On this day the sun rises
And our Congo stands resplendent.
A long night is ended,
A great happiness has come.
Let us all, with wild joyfulness, sing
The song of freedom.
CHORUS
Arise, Congolese, proud every man,
Proclaim the unity of our nation.
Let us forget what divides us
And become more united than ever.
Let us live our motto:
Unity, work, progress.
(repeat previous two lines)
From the forest to the bush,
From the bush to the ocean,
One people, one soul,
One heart, ardent and proud.
Let us all fight, every one of us,
For our old black country.
CHORUS
Arise, Congolese, proud every man,
Proclaim the unity of our nation.
Let us forget what divides us
And become more united than ever.
Let us live our motto:
Unity, work, progress.
(repeat previous two lines)
And if we have to die,
Does it really matter? Our children
Everywhere will be able to say how
Triumph comes through battle,
And in the smallest village
Sings beneath our three colours.
CHORUS
Arise, Congolese, proud every man,
Proclaim the unity of our nation.
Let us forget what divides us
And become more united than ever.
Let us live our motto:
Unity, work, progress.
(repeat previous two lines) |
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Its location in the center of Africa has made DRC a key player in the region since independence. Because of its size, mineral wealth, and strategic location, Zaire was able to capitalize on Cold War tensions to gather support from the West. In the early 1990s, however, in the face of growing evidence of human rights abuses, Western support waned as pressure for internal reforms increased. Relations with surrounding countries have often been driven by security concerns. Intricate and interlocking alliances have often characterized regional relations. Conflicts in Sudan, Uganda, Angola, Rwanda, and Burundi have at various times created bilateral and regional tensions.
THE INTER-CONGOLESE DIALOGUE
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