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Democratic Republic of the Congo
Women in decision-making positions
No elected local deliberative bodies
No woman is Head of State or Government
13%
Parliamentarians are women
21%
Ministers are women

Government organization

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a unitary republic with three spheres of government: central, intermediate (the City of Kinshasa and the provinces), and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of intermediate government and one or two tiers of central government.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President of the Republic is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic from within the parliamentary majority after consultation with it.
  • Legislative body: Parliament is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the National Assembly). Members of the Senate are elected by the provincial assemblies. Members of the National Assembly are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet is composed of the Prime Minister, ministers, deputy ministers and, the case arising, of vice prime ministers, ministers of state, and delegated ministers. Members of the Cabinet are appointed by the President of the Republic on the proposal of the Prime Minister.
City of Kinshasa and provincial-level government
  • Legislative body: The provincial assembly is a unicameral legislature that is composed of provincial deputies who are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The provincial government is composed of the governor, the vice governor, and the provincial ministers. The governor and vice governor are elected by the provincial deputies; provincial ministers are appointed by the governor.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one or two tiers. In the single-tiered system, there are 471 sector-level local government units and 261 chiefdom-level local government units. In the two-tiered system, there is an upper tier of 96 city-level local government units and a lower tier of 604 municipalities.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for the construction and maintenance of local roads and public buildings, police measures relating to the convenience of passage on municipal roads and on roads of general interest, development plans of the locality, disposal of property in the locality’s private domain and acts of decommissioning property in the locality’s public domain, organization and management of a hygiene service and the sanitation program, and creation and management of cultural centers, libraries, and historic sites of local interest.
  • Ministerial oversight: Minister of the Interior, Security, Decentralization and Customary Affairs

Overview of local government

Local government composition
City-level government

Deliberative body: The urban council is composed of four members elected by and from each municipal council within the territory of the city. A council president is elected by and from the urban council; the council president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The urban executive council is composed of the city mayor, the deputy mayor, and three aldermen. The city mayor and the deputy mayor are elected by the urban council; the aldermen are appointed by the city mayor.

Municipalities

Deliberative body: The municipal council is composed of 7-15 elected members. A council president is elected by and from the municipal council; the council president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The municipal executive council is composed of the municipal mayor, the deputy-mayor, and two aldermen. The municipal mayor and deputy-mayor are elected by the municipal council; the aldermen are appointed by the municipal mayor.

Sector-level government

Deliberative body: The sector council is composed of 7-13 elected members. A council president is elected by and from the sector council; the council president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The sector executive council is composed of the sector chief, the deputy-chief, and two aldermen. The sector chief and deputy-chief are elected by the sector council; the aldermen are appointed by the sector chief.

Chiefdom-level government

Deliberative body: The chiefdom council is composed of 7-13 elected members. A council president is elected by and from the chiefdom council to preside over it; the council president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The chiefdom executive council is composed of the chiefdom chief and three aldermen. The chiefdom chief is appointed according to traditional customs; the aldermen are appointed by the chiefdom chief.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for deliberative bodies: proportional representation (open list) in municipalities and chiefdoms/sectors with multi-member constituencies; majority/plurality (first-past-the-post) in chiefdoms/sectors with single-member constituencies

  • There have been no recent local elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, by law, direct local elections take place at the municipal, sector, and chiefdom levels of government; urban council members are elected by and from the municipal councils within it.
  • In municipalities, councilors are elected using open-list proportional representation with preferential vote and according to the rule of the strongest remainder.
  • In chiefdoms and sectors, seats are only attributed to lists of political parties which have obtained at least 10% of the total votes cast within the circumscription. In circumscriptions with one seat, the candidate which obtains the greatest number of votes is elected. In circumscriptions with two or more seats, there is an open-list proportional election according to the rule of the strongest remainder.

Electoral system for executive bodies: no direct elections/appointment

  • The executive heads are appointed or elected by the councils.

Source: Law on the Organization of Presidential, Legislative, Provincial, Urban, Municipal, and Local Elections, 2006 (amended through 2022), articles 118, 119, 175, 191 and 209

Quotas
  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No
Term of elections
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: --
  • Next local elections: 2024
Electoral management body

National Independent Electoral Commission

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2005 (amended through 2011);
  • Law on the Composition, Organization, and Function of Territorial Decentralized Entities and their Relationship with the State and the Provinces, 2008;
  • Law on the Fundamental Principles Relating to the Free Administration of Provinces, 2008 (amended through 2013);
  • Law on the Organization of Presidential, Legislative, Provincial, Urban, Municipal, and Local Elections, 2006 (amended through 2022).
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to Article 3 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo of 2005 (amended through 2011), “these decentralized territorial entities are the city, the commune, the sector and the chefferie [head man's district]. They enjoy free administration autonomy of management of their economic, human, financial and technical resources. The composition, the organization [and] the functioning of these decentralized territorial entities as well as their relations with the State and the Provinces are established by an organic law.”

Legislative provisions on local government

Parliament is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation that regulates local government is the Law on the Composition, Organization, and Function of Territorial Decentralized Entities and their Relationship with the State and the Provinces of 2008. According to Articles 4 and 5 of the Law on the Composition, Organization, and Function of Territorial Decentralized Entities and their Relationship with the State and the Provinces of 2008, “the province is subdivided into cities and territories. [The following] are subdivided, within the province: the city into municipalities, the municipality into districts and/or incorporated groups, the territory into communes, sectors, and/or chiefdoms, the sector or chiefdom into groups, and the grouping into villages. The territory, the district, the grouping, and the village are deconcentrated territorial entities without legal personality. The city, the municipality, the sector, and the chiefdom are decentralized territorial entities endowed with legal personality. They enjoy free administration and autonomy in the management of their human, economic, financial, and technical resources.”

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.