CONGO REPORT |
The vast, low-lying central area is a basin-shaped plateau sloping toward the west and is covered by tropical rainforest. This area is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaus merging into savannas in the south and southwest and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north. High mountains are found in the extreme eastern region. D.R.C. lies on the Equator, with one-third of the country to the north and two-thirds to the south. The climate is hot and humid in the river basin and cool and dry in the southern highlands. South of the Equator, the rainy season lasts from October to May and north of the Equator, from April to November . Along the Equator, rainfall is fairly regular throughout the year. During the wet season, thunderstorms often are violent but seldom last more than a few hours. The average rainfall for the entire country is about 107 centimeters.
CABINET The Cabinet is made up of 35 members appointed by the president and various rebel groups that entered into a peace agreement with the government in December 2002. The peace agreement brought to an end a civil war that had drawn in at least 5 African countries.
PARLIAMENT The DRC has a two chamber Parliament consisting of a 500 member National Assembly and a 120-seat Senate established in June 2003. Members of the National Assembly were appointed by the leaders in the factions integrated into the new government under the peace agreement.
ELECTIONS
A key provision in the peace agreement was the scheduling of parliamentary and presidential elections in 2006, marking the first time the DRC has had general elections in its 40-year history. The elections were duly held in July and, as of the time of writing, the country is currently undergoing a run-off election between the two candidates that topped the first round election, Joseph Kabila and Pierre Bemba. Kabila ended up being declared the President of Congo after the run off.Despite heavy resistance of the results Mr Bemba finally declared defeat and accepted President Kabila's triumph.
POLITICAL PARTIES The DRC has ten major political parties including the rebel groups that transformed themselves into parties after the peace agreement. The major parties are:
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Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C) is located in Central Africa where it borders Angola, Burundi , Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) includes the greater part of the Congo River basin, which covers an area of almost 1 million square kilometers. The country's only outlet to the Atlantic Ocean is a narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Congo River .