Politics
First of all, the Congo is
a unitary Republic.
For the uninitiated, this means that the central government holds the reigns on everything. Any and all local authorities or administrative centres are delegated responsibilities as the executive branch sees fit. After the 2015 referendum, the political system is a semi-presidential one where the President is the head of the State, while the Prime Minister is the head of the Government. The latter is also responsible for the members of the cabinet of ministers of the President.
The Executive Power, i.e., the enforcement of the laws and the duties of administering the country, is exercised by both the President and the Government, while the Legislative power is carried out by the Government and the Parliament.
Speaking of the Parliament it
consists of two chambers:
The lower one is the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) consisting of 151 members who serve for five years after their election from single seat districts.
The higher one is the Senate (Sénat) whose 72 members are elected for six-year terms by local, regional and district councils.
Elections for the
members of the National
Assembly are carried out
every five years,
and both independent candidates and parties can participate. The last ones were held in 2017 with the participation of 19 parties and a number of independents. The final tally assigned at least one seat to all parties while 19 independents were also elected. For a candidate to be elected, they must receive 50%+1 of the votes in their district. This can be achieved either through the first round, or through a second round held three weeks after the first.
Addendum