Political Background

In the wake of the historic general elections that took place in 2006, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is slowly moving towards strengthening its newly formed democratic institutions and overcoming a decades-old legacy of armed conflict and authoritarian rule. Between 1996 and 2004, an estimated four million people died in a protracted civil war involving six other African states and many locally armed groups and militias. In 1997, Laurent Désiré Kabila came to power through an armed uprising that overthrew the 32-year regime of General Mobutu Sese Seko. Four years later, Laurent Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards. His son, Joseph, after being selected to replace his father as president, made efforts to revive the stalled peace process. Building on the framework of the 1999 Lusaka Accords, and after extensive negotiations known as the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, representatives of the government, rebel groups and political parties signed an "All Inclusive Peace Accord" in April 2003. The signatories agreed to draft a new constitution and establish a transitional power-sharing administration to oversee democratic elections in two years. Joseph Kabila was maintained as head of state.

Multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections on July 30, 2006 marked the culmination of NDI's support for the democratic transition process that has been underway since 2003. Election day was peaceful throughout the country and many international and Congolese observer organizations declared the elections legitimate and credible. By contrast, violence erupted in Kinshasa on the day first-round election results were scheduled to be announced. The crisis eventually subsided in part as a result of a diplomatic and military intervention led by the United Nations Mission in the Congo (MONUC) and the European Union (EU).

Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the votes, second-round presidential elections took place on October 29. On November 14, the CEI declared Joseph Kabila as the winner with 58% of the vote. His opponent, transitional vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba publicly stated his acceptance of the election results and his intent to run for one of Kinshasa's senate seats. The provincial assemblies, which were also elected on October 29, chose provincial governors and members of the Senate in early 2007.

Past Activities

Since April 2001, the NDI, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has conducted activities to improve prospects for an inclusive and viable democratization process in the DRC.

NDI began this work by assisting Congolese political groups that did not participate in the country's civil war to play a constructive and meaningful role in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue (ICD). In preparation for the ICD, NDI organized seminars for party leaders to discuss the role of political parties in a democratic transition. In March 2002, NDI established a technical secretariat in Sun City, South Africa to share information with Congolese party representatives and facilitate their successful participation in the peace negotiations.

In the lead-up to the 2006 national and provincial elections, NDI focused on four main program areas: building the capacity of political parties through technical trainings; promoting citizen participation in the political process through a series of political party forums; supporting the creation of a legal framework to underpin the country's transition to democratic governance; and enhancing domestic capacity to monitor and report on the election process. The Institute trained 24,000 party pollwatchers to monitor the July 2006 first-round elections, and an additional 10,000 pollwatchers in the lead up to the October 2006 elections.

Current Activities

NDI is currently implementing a USAID-funded program to strengthen the country's new democratic institutions by working with a selected cross-section of political parties and the new national and provincial assemblies. Moreover, starting in February 2007, NDI will launch a public opinion research project with financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The Institute will conduct a series of focus groups throughout the DRC to gauge citizen attitudes, interests and expectations with regard to the new government as well as a number of political, social and economic issues. NDI will share this research with political and civic leaders and members of the new national and provincial assemblies.

The Institute continues to support the development of political parties, particularly those that are represented in the National Assembly. The Institute is providing technical assistance to parties as they:

• develop and implement coherent goal-driven strategies in response to the outcome of the elections and the political environment, overall;
• improve internal communication structures, including mechanisms for regularly soliciting feedback and informing members of party priorities and accomplishments;
• clarify the roles and responsibilities of party officials;
• develop strategies to attract new members;
• form caucuses in the new legislature.

NDI is supporting the members of the new National Assembly to more effectively fulfill their roles and responsibilities as legislators. The Institute is working closely with the Assembly's Political, Administrative and Judicial Affairs (PAJ) Committees providing technical assistance as they review and revise key laws necessary for the consolidation of democratic institutions. NDI also provides technical support to the Economic and Finance (ECOFIN) Committee in its review of the national budget. NDI is also convening a Legislative Task Force made up of Congolese experts in a variety of fields who will make themselves available to provide support to the National Assembly on an as-needed basis.

Although women and youth have made significant contributions to peace building in the DRC, they remain underrepresented in public office and party leadership positions. In the course of its work with parties and the National Assembly, NDI makes special efforts to empower women and encourage their participation in the political process. The Institute is supporting the development of a women's legislative caucus that would bring together female members of the National Assembly to promote legislation of special concern to women and encourage their participation in committees and party caucuses.

NDI, in collaboration with IFES, operates Democracy Resource Centers in the cities of Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kikwit, Kisangani, Mbuji-Mayi and Goma. These centers provide representatives of political parties and civil society groups with access to information and logistical support to foster their effective participation in the political process. They also serve as a much-needed neutral political space for multiparty dialogue. The resource centers host training workshops on internal party structures, party outreach, and communication strategies. They also allow local party leaders access to resources that they might not otherwise have such as newspapers, magazines and the internet.

Contact Information

For further information on our programs in Democratic Republic of Congo, please contact:

Megan Shaw, Senior Program Assistant
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