DRC: Electoral System

Updated November 2006

Legal basis[1]	Constitution 2005 Law No 04/009 of June 5, 2004 governs the structure and functioning of the IEC. Law No. 04/024 12 November 2004, deals with Congolese Nationality. Law No 04/028 of December 24, 2004 deals with the identification and registration of voters. Law 06/006 of March 2006 governs the conduct of elections.
Electoral system	First democratic elections since 1965 held in 2006. National Assembly 500 seats elected from multimember plurality constituencies, Senate 104 seats elected by the Provincial Assemblies by proportional representation; eight from Kinshasa and four from each of the other 24 provinces[2]. President directly elected by +50% majority; if no candidate obtains more than 50% of vote, run-off held where the weakest candidates are eliminated and the candidate who obtains the most votes is elected[3].
Election period	Concurrent Presidential and Parliamentary elections every 5 years[4].
Electoral institutions	Commission Electorale Indépendante (CEI, Independent Electoral Commission)[5].
Functions of electoral institutions	The CEI is responsible for the organization of the electoral process, including voter registration, the maintenance of voters' rolls, voting operations, vote counting, the announcement of provisional results and the conduct of referendums[6].
Independence of electoral institutions	The independence of the CEI is guaranteed by the constitution; it is chaired by a member of civil society and Commissioners are nominated by political parties[7].
Demarcation	The allocation of the number of representative to multimember constituencies according to a legislated formula is the function of the CEI and is ratified by Parliament[8].
Voter registration	Continuous registration conducted by officials of CEI. Finger prints are taken and a voter's card with a photograph is issued, which also functions as an identity document[9].
Voter education	The CEI is tasked with voter education but lacks the resources to do so effectively. Civil society bodies undertake voter training but lack the resources to reach the rural areas[10].
Nomination of candidates	Presidential: Candidates must be over 30 years and submit an application with a CV, various documents and a non-refundable deposit of CF22 000 000[11]. Parliamentary: Candidates must submit an application with the names of two substitutes, various documents and a non-refundable deposit of CF110 000[12].
Funding of political parties	Public funding of political parties is enabled but not mandated by Congolese law and political parties are not funded by the state[13].
Election campaign	Campaigning begins 30 days and ends 24 hours before election day[14]. A Code of Conduct governing campaigning was developed by the CEI and signed by political parties in August 2005[15].
Communication	A independent broadcasting and communication authority (High Authority of the Media (HAM)) is established by the constitution[16]. Equitable access to media is enshrined in law[17]. HAM has developed a Code of Conduct which was signed by media and political party representatives[18].
Counting	Counting takes place at voting stations immediately after closing. Party agents, candidates' representatives, journalists, observers and witnesses chosen among voters may be present[19].
Announcement of results	Results are posted outside the polling station by the presiding officer and transmitted to the compilation centre[20]. At the compilation centre they are checked and aggregated. They are transmitted to the CEI for ratification and are posted outside the compilation centre after ratification[21]. CEI hears disputes and complaints and aggregates national elections and announces provisional results[22]. The results are submitted to the relevant court for confirmation[23].
Conflict resolution	Teams of mediators are deployed during the election period to resolve disputes[24]. The CEI hears and attempts to resolve conflicts and disputes about the electoral process and results[25]. Petitions must be brought within three days of the announcement of the results and are heard by at least three judges in the various three courts[26].
Election monitoring	The CNE accredits domestic and foreign monitors and observers, as well as party observers; application must be made at least 15 days before an election[27].

Table notes

[1] EISA 2005.
[2] Constitution 2005, Articles 100, 101, 103-105; Law 06/006, 115-119, 128-130.
[3] Constitution 2005, Articles 69 - 71, 83.
[4] This is not prescribed by law but is the actual practice.
[5] Constitution 2005, Article 211.
[6] Ibid, Law 06/006 2006, 2.
[7] Constitution 2005, Article 211, Law No 04/009, 8, 11.
[8] Law No 06/006, 115, Annexure 1.
[9] KALOMBO, G 2006, EISA DRC Election Update, 1, 10.
[10] Ibid, 10.
[11] Law No 06/006, 104-105.
[12] Law No 06/006, 121.
[13] Law 04/002 2004, 22, 25.
[14] Law 06/006 2006, 28.
[15] Kalombo 2006, 15.
[16] Constitution 2005, Article 212.
[17] Law 06/006 2006, 33.
[18] Kalombo 2006, 12-13.
[19] Law 06/006 2006, 62-63.
[20] Law 06/006 2006, 68-69.
[21] Law 06/006 2006, 70. The law does not require that the results be ratified by the CEI before posting; nevertheless this was the procedure observed in 2006.
[22] Law 06/006 2006, 71.
[23] Law 06/006 2006, 72. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction in presidential and parliamentary matters, the Court of Appeal for provincial and the High Court and magistrates courts for local government (Law 06/006 2006, 27).
[24] The mediators were trained by EISA.
[25] Law 06/006 2006, 71.
[26] Law 06/006 2006, 73-76. See footnote 23.
[27] Law 06/006 2006, 42-45.

References

CONSTITUTION 2005.
Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo 2005, [www] http://www.presidentrdc.cd/constitution.html [opens new window] (accessed 8 Mar 2010).

CONSTITUTION OF THE TRANSITION 2002, Democratic Republic of Congo Inter-Congolese Dialogue, [www] http://www.issafrica.org/AF/profiles/DRCongo/cdreader/bin/7draft.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 8 Mar 2010).

EISA 2005 Overview of the Legislation for the National Elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo [PDF document], IN EISA Conflict Management Manual for the DRC | Vue d'Ensemble de la Legislation Regissant les Elections Nationales dans la Republique Democratique du Congo EN FRANÇAIS.

KALOMBO, G 2006, EISA Election Update 2006: Democratic Republic of Congo, 1 20 July [PDF document].

LAW 04/009 of JUNE 5, 2004.
Loi No 04/009 du 5 Juin 2004 portant organisation, attributions et fonctionnement de la Commission Electorale Independante.

LAW 04/024 of 12 NOVEMBER 2004.
Loi No 04/024 du 12 Novembre 2004 relative a la nationalite Congolaise.

LAW 04/028 of 24 DECEMBER 2004.
Loi No 04/028 du 24 Decembre 2004 portant identification et enrolement des electeurs en République Démocratique du Congo.

LAW 06/006 OF FEBRUARY 2006
Loi 06/006 du Février 2006, Loi Electorale, [www] http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/CD/drc-electoral-law-february-2006-french. [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 8 Mar 2010).