General Information
At stake in this election:
- 108 seats in the Senate
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President Joseph KABILA *
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Antoine GIZENGA
- Assembly: Democratic Republic of the Congo has a bicameral legislature consisting of the National Assembly with 500 seats and the Senate with 108 seats.
* Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001.
Description of electoral system:
- The President is elected by direct popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
- In the National Assembly, 61 members are elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 439 members are elected by open list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms. In the Senate 108 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 5-year terms.**
** The 108 members of the Senate are elected by indirect vote, by provincial deputies from within and outside the provincial Assembly, to serve 5-year terms.
Main parties in the electoral race:
- Party: People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) / Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Democratie*
- Leader: Joseph KABILA
- Seats won in this Senate election: 22
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Party: Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) / Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo
- Leader: Jean-Pierre BEMBA
- Seats won in this Senate election: 14
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Party: Forces for Renewal / Forces du Renouveau (FR)
- Leader: Antipas Mbusa NYAMWISI
- Seats won in this Senate election: 7
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Party: Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) / Rassemblement Congloais pour la Democratie
- Leader: Azarias RUBERWA
- Seats won in this Senate election: 7
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Party: Christian Democrat Party (PDC) / Parti Democrate Chretien
- Leader: Jose Endundo BONONGE
- Seats won in this Senate election: 6
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Party: Social Movement for Renewal (MSR) / Mouvement Social pour le Renouveau
- Leader: Pierre LUMBI
- Seats won in this Senate election: 3
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Party: Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU) / Parti Lumumbist Unife
- Leader: Antoine GIZENGA
- Seats won in this Senate election: 2
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Party: Convention of Christian Democrats (CDC) / Convention des Democrates Chretiens
- Leader: Flobentin Moronda BONZA
- Seats won in this Senate election: 3
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
* Independents won 26 seats and 18 parties won 1 seat each in the 2007 senate election.
Population and registered voters:
- Population: 59,834,875 (2007)
- Registered voters: 25,421,249 (2006)
Gender Data:
· Female Population:30,096,942 (2007)
· Is Democratic Republic of the Congo a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
· Has Democratic Republic of the Congo ratified CEDAW: Yes (17 October 1986)
· Gender Quota: Yes
· Female candidates in this election: Yes
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 42 (National Assembly) (following 2006 elections); 5 (Senate) (following 2007 elections)
· Human Development Index Position: 176 (2014)
· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)
Disability Data:
· Is Democratic Republic of the Congo a signatory to CRPD: No
· Has Democratic Republic of the Congo ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (30 September 2015)
· Population with a disability: 8,975,231 (est.)