President Of The Democratic Republic Of The Congo
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The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (, ,
Lingala Lingala (or Ngala, Lingala: ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser de ...
: ''Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki'') is the
head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
and commander-in-chief of the
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
. The position of president in the DRC has existed since the first constitution – known as The Fundamental Law – of 1960. However the powers of this position have varied over the years, from a limited shared role in the executive branch, with a prime minister, to a full-blown dictatorship. Under the current
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
, the President exists as the highest institution in a
semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamen ...
republic. The president is protected by the Republican Guard. The constitutional mandate of the then president, Joseph Kabila, was due to expire on 20 December 2016 but was initially extended by him until the end of 2017 and he continued to remain in post until a presidential election was held in December 2018 when Félix Tshisekedi was elected and took office on 24 January 2019.


Presidential powers

The semi-presidential system established by the constitution is largely borrowed from the French constitution. Although it is the
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
that oversee much of the nation's actual lawmaking, the president wields significant influence, both formally and from constitutional convention. The president holds the nation's most senior office, and outranks all other politicians. The president is able to choose the prime minister. However, the President must nominate the prime minister from among the parliamentary majority after consultation with the parliamentary majority, if an obvious majority exists, and if it does not exist, must nominate a prime minister who has a once renewable 30 day exploratory mandate to form a coalition. The prime minister and cabinet must present their plan of action to the National Assembly, which must approve the government and the plan of action by an absolute majority. Only the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
has the power to dismiss the prime minister's government. *When the majority of the Assembly has opposite political views to that of the president, this leads to political cohabitation. In that case, the president's power is diminished, since much of the de facto power relies on a supportive prime minister and National Assembly, and is not directly attributed to the post of president. Still, the constitutional convention is that the president directs foreign policy, though he must work on that matter with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. *When the majority of the Assembly sides with him, the President can take a more active role and may, in effect, direct government policy. The prime minister is often a mere "fuse"and can be replaced if the administration becomes unpopular. Among the formal powers of the president: *The president ensures respect of the constitution and ensures the proper functioning of the public authorities and institutions as well as the continuity of the State. He guarantees the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of the nation and ensures the observance of international treaties. *The president appoints the Prime Minister and, acting on the advice of the latter, appoints and removes the other members of the government.Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2006, article 81
*The president convokes and presides at meetings of the Council of Ministers, promulgates the laws, and issues ordinances *The president invests the elected Governors and Vice-Governors of the Provinces with their powers. *The president appoints, suspends, and removes, on the proposal of the government and after deliberation by the Council of Ministers: **Ambassadors and other diplomatic personnel; **Officers of the armed forces and national police, after hearing the opinion of the High Defense Council; **The general chief of staff, the chiefs of staff and the commanders of the main branches of the armed forces, after hearing the opinion of the High Defense Council; **High-ranking civil servants; **Persons in charge of public services and establishments; **Representatives of the State (other than auditors) in public enterprises; **Judges and public prosecutors on the proposal of the High Council of the Judiciary. *The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and chairs the High Defense Council. *The president confers national honors. *The president may declare a state of emergency or a state of siege "When grave circumstances constitute a present threat to the independence or the integrity of the national territory or when they provoke the disruption of the proper functioning of the institutions." *The president may declare war with the authorization of both chambers of parliament, after deliberation by the Council of Ministers, and after hearing the opinion of the High Defense Council. *The President may grant pardons or commute or reduce sentences. *The President appoints and accredits ambassadors to foreign countries and international organizations, and receives ambassadors accredited to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. *The President defines national policy in coordination with the government and is responsible, in cooperation with the government, for defense, security, and foreign affairs. *The president has a very limited form of suspensive veto: when presented with a law. The president can request another reading of it by parliament, but only once per law.


Requirements

Article 72 of the Congolese constitution states that the President must be a
natural-born citizen A natural-born-citizen clause is a provision in some constitutions that certain officers, usually the head of state, must be "natural-born" citizens of that state, but there is no universally accepted meaning for the term ''natural-born''. The c ...
– or more accurately: – of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and at least 30 years of age. Additionally, the President must be free of any legal constraints on their civil and political rights. Article 10 of the same constitution defines ''citoyen d'origine'' as : "anyone belonging to the ethnic groups whose persons and territory constituted what became the Congo (currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo), at independence".


Succession

Articles 75 and 76 of the constitution state that upon the death or resignation of the President, the vacancy of the position is declared by the Constitutional court. The President of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
then becomes interim president. The Independent Electoral Commission has to organize elections between sixty (60) and ninety (90)Constitution of the DRC
/ref> days after the official declaration of vacancy by the Constitutional court.


Other information

The official office of the president is the '' Palais de la Nation'' (Palace of the Nation) in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
.The official residence of the president is the ''Camp Tshatshi Palace'' in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
, although it has not been used since it was looted in 1997. Other presidential residences include: * the '' Palais de Marbre''; it houses foreign official guests; * the ''Domaine de la Rwindi'' in
Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...
, Nord-Kivu.


Elections

Under the 2006 constitution, the President is directly elected to a five-year term – renewable only once – by
universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
. The first President to have been elected under these provisions is Joseph Kabila, in the 2006 elections. After the president is elected, he goes through a solemn investiture ceremony.


2023 election


See also

* Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ** List of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo **
Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (, , ) is the head of government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Constitution of the Third Republic grants the prime minister a significant amount of power. The post i ...
** List of prime ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Historical: * Vice-Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Colonial Heads of Congo **Rulers of Katanga ** Rulers of Kuba ** Rulers of Luba ** Rulers of Ruund (Luunda) ** Rulers of Kasongo Luunda (Yaka) ** Rulers of Kongo *
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...


References


External links


Official website of the President of the DRC
{{Heads of state and government of Africa Lists of Democratic Republic of the Congo people Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1960 establishments in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)