Democratic People's Republic of the Congo

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Revision as of 03:01, 21 August 2008

République Populaire Démocratique du Congo Democratic People's Republic of the Congo
Flag	Coat of arms
Motto "Travail, Égalité, Socialisme" (French) "Work, Equality, Socialism"
Anthem Congo, Le Fleuve Beau (French) (Congo, The Beautiful River)
Capital Largest city	Brazzaville 4°14′S, 15°14′E Kinshasa
Official languages	French
Recognized regional languages	Kongo/Kituba, Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba
Government  - President  - Prime Minister	Socialist state Christophe Sassou Ngouabi Pierre Manianga
Establishment	August 11, 1964
Area  - Total  - Water (%)	2,686,858 km² 1,037,398 sq mi 3.3
Population  - July 2008 estimate  - Density	70,417,824 26.2 /km² 67.9 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)  - Total  - Per capita	2008 estimate $75.417 billion $1,071
GDP (nominal)  - Total  - Per capita	2008 estimate $96.402 billion $1,369
Gini (2006)	34.5 (medium)
HDI (2005)	0.699 (medium)
Currency	Ebale (COE)
Time zone - Summer (DST)	WAT, CAT (UTC +1 to +2) not observed (UTC +1 to +2)
Internet TLD	.cg
Calling code	+243

The Democratic People's Republic of the Congo (French: République Populaire Démocratique du Congo) is a large, developing nation in Central Africa. It borders Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania to the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; and Cabinda (an enclave of Angola) and Gabon to the west. Formed in 1964 by a merger of the former French and Belgian Congos, the Democratic People's Republic of the Congo has followed the principles of Marxism-Leninism for most of its existence, and remains one of the most militant, revolutionary states in the Third World.

Politics

The DPRC is a single-party socialist republic.

Congolese Revolutionary Socialist Party

The only legal political party in the Congo is the Congolese Revolutionary Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste Révolutionnaire Congolaise), better known by its French language acronym, PSRC. The central role of the party is codified in the constitution, which states that "there exists in the Democratic People's Republic of the Congo a single national institution, the Congolese Revolutionary Socialist Party, incarnated by the Congolese people." The constitution further stipulates that Marxism-Leninism is the party's "political, ethical, and national faith." The party is run on democratic centralist lines.

Party policy is set by the twelve-member Political Bureau (Politburo), headed by the General-Secretary. Politburo members are elected by the party's 150-member Central Committee, and the Central Committee is elected by the National Congress. The National Congress of the PSRC is held every five years. The Party Secretariat, which consists of five Politburo members (including the General-Secretary), oversees day-to-day policy implementation.

President

The head of state of the Congo is the President, who is elected to a five-year term by the National Revolutionary Assembly, which serves as the country's parliament. While in theory the President's powers are vast, in practice, his duties are mainly ceremonial, and the powers he does have are exercised on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The President is the de jure commander-in-chief of the Congolese People's Armed Forces (Forces armées Populaire Congolaise). He also has the following powers:

1. To appoint Ministers (including the Prime Minister) and deputies to Ministers, from among the members of the National Revolutionary Assembly.
2. To appoint and accredit, and receive and recognize, ambassadors, plenipotentiaries, diplomatic representatives and other diplomatic officers, consuls and consular officers.
3. To appoint provincial governors (Gouverneurs), magistrates of the People's Supreme Court (Cour Supreme Populaire), the chairman of the State Bank (Banque de l'état), and commanders of the armed forces.
4. To take part in foreign visits and conclude treaties with foreign nations.
5. To grant a pardon to or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving punishment of death.
6. To declare or terminate a State of Emergency or martial law, and suspend civil liberties and rule by decree.

Lastly, the President inaugurates the National Revolutionary Assembly by addressing it after the general elections and also at the beginning of the first session each year.

There are no term limits for the presidency, but he can be removed from office by a majority vote of the Politburo (not the National Revolutionary Assembly).

Prime Minister

The head of government of the Democratic People's Republic of the Congo is the President of the Council of Ministers (Président du Conseil des ministres), otherwise known as the Prime Minister (Premier ministre), in whom the constitution invests with central executive authority. The Prime Minister determines the composition of the Council of Ministers (cabinet). The President formally appoints and dismisses Ministers, at the recommendation of the Prime Minister; no parliamentary approval is needed. The Prime Minister sets the number of Ministers and dictates their specific duties. He is responsible for all government policies and any formal policy guidelines issued by him are legally binding directives that Ministers must implement. Ministers are expected to introduce specific policies at the ministerial level that reflect the Prime Minister's broader guidelines.

De facto command of the Congolese People's Armed Forces is held by the Prime Minister.

National Revolutionary Assembly

(Assemblee Nationale Revolutionnaire), a unicameral body composed of 219 members

true power lies with the President of the Council of Ministers (Président du Conseil des ministres), otherwise known as the Prime Minister (Premier ministre), who is ex officio General Secretary of the Congolese Revolutionary Socialist Party (Secrétaire général du Parti Socialiste Révolutionnaire Congolaise).

true power lies with the President of the Council of Ministers (Président du Conseil des ministres), otherwise known as the Prime Minister (Premier ministre), who is ex officio General Secretary of the Congolese Revolutionary Socialist Party (Secrétaire général du Parti Socialiste Révolutionnaire Congolaise).

219

Head of state: President

Head of government: Prime Minister

Legislature: ( ), unicameral

or

People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire)

Judiciary: Central People's Court (Cour Central Populaire) or People's Supreme Court (Cour Supreme Populaire)

national elections are indirect and based on mass meetings throughout the country