Democratic Republic of Congo flag Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Félix Tshisekedi (UDSP - since January 2019)
Prime Minister :Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge (ACO - since April 2021)
Next Election Dates
2023
Main Political Parties
Congolese citizens have the formal right to organize political parties. Hundreds of parties exist, organized along ethnic, communal, or regional lines; with the majority having only a regional reach. Key parties at national level include former president Kabila’s PPRD (People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy; left-wing) and the UDPS (Union for Democracy and Social Progress, centre-left) of the current president Félix Tshisekedi. The MLC (Movement for the Liberation of the Congo, right-wing) also gained seats in the two houses of the parliament.
Executive Power
The Democratic Republic of Congo can be considered a semi-presidential republic. The executive power is vested in the President and in the Prime Minister. The latter is appointed by the President (normally choosing the leader of the party with the majority of seats in the parliament). The President is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while the Prime Minister is the head of government.
Legislative Power
The legislative power is attributed to the bicameral parliament, formed by the National Assembly (with 500 members elected by direct suffrage) and the Senate (with 109 members elected by the legislatures of the 25 provinces).
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
149/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Not Free

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: December 2023

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