1965 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election

none Democratic Republic of the Congo 1963 legislative 1960 Belgian Congo general election 1960 18 March – 30 April 1965 1970 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election 1970 167 members of the Chamber of Deputies File:26.2.63. Moïse Tshombe arrive à Toulouse (1963) - 53Fi5440 (cropped).jpg Moïse Tshombe CONACO 122 New CNG 1961 MiNr0060 mt B002 (cropped).jpg Joseph Kasa-Vubu ABAKO 10 2 3x4.svg AMNCL Mouvement National Congolais 7 New 1965 Democratic Republic of the Congo Chamber of Deputies election.svg Results by electoral district (post-reruns) Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe CONAKAT Elected Prime Minister Évariste Kimba FDC General elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 18 March and 30 April 1965, following the promulgation of a new constitution approved by a referendum the previous year. 223 political parties contested the election for 167 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.DRC: Electoral Operation of the 1965 election https://web.archive.org/web/20100902212153/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/drc1965election2.htm 2010-09-02 EISA The elections had originally been scheduled for the summer of 1964, but were postponed due to the Simba rebellion, ultimately taking place in March 1965. The process was "relatively free of fraud or rigging", except for in Kinshasa, where a lack of ballots and personnel delayed voting there by a month.Hayward Fred M. Elections in Independent Africa Taylor & Francis 2019 9780429712005 252–256 The number of electoral lists competing dropped from 250 in 1960 to 227. Yet, more parties won seats this time, as there were no truly national parties. The creation of new provinces, fueling regional and ethnic claims to autonomy, and the adoption of the Luluabourg Constitution, which established a de facto federal structure, contributed to the fragmentation. In practice, provinces enjoyed substantial autonomy, as the central government lacked the capacity to fully enforce its authority. Every major party from the previous election had since fractured, making the emergence of a cohesive national party impossible. As a result, political power could only be secured through the formation of a coalition. Before the rebellions, an attempt to form an alliance of parties was initiated by Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula under the name Rassemblement des Démocrate Congolais (RADECO). However, this alliance lost momentum in the wake of the rebellions and died out with the appointment of former secessionist leader Moïse Tshombe as Prime Minister. Once in power, Tshombe created a coalition of circumstance called the Convention Nationale Congolaise (CONACO). 49 list were represented at the CONACO congress a month before the election. There, a vague platform was adopted, proclaiming CONACO's commitment to democracy, development, human rights, and provincial autonomy, while opposing racism, colonialism, tribalism, regionalism, and secessionism. The preferred candidate of a large segment of the "moderate" coalition was Tshombe. Lumumbist parties, initially boycotting the elections as they felt they could not be held democratically, on the eve of the elections, formed a Lumumbist coalitionGerard-Libois Jules Congo 1965: Political Documents of a Developing Nation Verhaegen Benoit Princeton University Press 1967 9780691030128 221–227 called the Alliance des mouvements nationalistes congolais Lumumba (AMNCL). The alliance demanded the release of Antoine Gizenga and his associates, the restoration of the democratic freedoms enshrined in the constitution, and declared themselves to be the sole nationalist name in the election. The coalition brought together MNC-L, Unified Lumumbist Party, ATCAR, and Balubakat. The preferred candidate of the nationalists was Kasavubu. thumb|Campaign poster for CONACO. The message on the poster says "when I promise, I deliver" Following the elections, the results were disputed by several parties. The Léopoldville Court of Appeal accepted six of them, and re-runs were required in Kivu Central,null Only the national elections were cancelled in these constituencies Goma-Rutshuru,null Cuvette Centrale, Fizi, Kwilu and Maniema, which were held between 8 and 22 August 1965. In Fizi and Maniema, where the cancellations came into effect on August 23, new elections were not held, but representatives for these constituencies were appointed at the beginning of 1966. The CONACO coalition, led by a "politician of indisputable charm and skill" and benefiting from access to the national treasury, was able to secure 122 seats (after re-runs). The AMNCL, whose member parties had suffered from internal fractures, the discrediting and defeat of the rebellions, and had their primary bastion of support in military-occupied territories, was only able to secure 7 (after re-runs). However, this unity within the CONACO coalition didn't last long and by the time parliament convened in September 1965, defectors had formed the Front Démocratique Congolais (FDC) coalition, resulting in a divided parliament as the CONACO coalition retained control of the Chamber of Deputies while the FDC gained control of the Senate.DRC: Constitutional Crisis between Kasavubu and Tshombe 67–68 At the first session of the new Parliament on October 13, President Kasa-Vubu, amidst an increasingly intense political rivalry with Tshombe, unexpectedly declared that Tshombe's transitional government had fulfilled its purpose of suppressing the leftist rebellions in the Eastern Congo; he replaced Tshombe with Évariste Kimba as prime minister, making him in charge of forming a Government of National Unity (GNU). The Kimba government was formally installed on October 18,20. Congo-Kinshasa/Zaire/Democratic Republic of the Congo (1960-present) https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/congo-kinshasazairedemocratic-republic-of-congo-1960-present/ 2024-10-06 uca.edu en-US 2024-03-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20240311161600/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/congo-kinshasazairedemocratic-republic-of-congo-1960-present/ dead with 16 of the 39 political parties in parliament being represented in government.The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State 1985 University of Wisconsin Press 9780299101138 50–51 The coalition government faced a vote of no confidence on November 14 and failed to gain the approval of the majority of lawmakers, losing 72 to 76 in the Chamber of Deputies and 49 to 58 in the Senate. Despite this however, President Kasa-Vubu reappointed Kimba as prime minister to the opposition of the Pro-Tshombe deputies in Parliament, leading to a paralyzed government. Amidst the political deadlock, Gen. Joseph Mobutu, head of the army, militarily intervened. On November 25, 1965, Mobutu staged a bloodless coup, citing the need to restore order and bring an end to the intenable political situation. Announced via radio, the coup attempt progressed smoothly with little resistance met from either Kasa-Vubu or Tshombe supporters as Mobutu took control of the government. The country's capital and major cities remained calm with little visible military presence.Kasavubu Regime Ousted By Army Coup in Congo https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/651125kasavubu.html 2024-10-06 archive.nytimes.com Results Chamber of Deputies Pre-annulment CONACO-led Coalition 25 Convention Nationale Congolaise 227961 38 New CONAKAT 178302 9 +1 Congolese Democratic Union 162016 10 New Association of the Wanande of Beni and Lubero 104896 7 New Rally for Congolese Democracy/Conaco 91475 4 New African Democratic Union-Lubaya 64845 4 New LUKA 62856 4 +1 Katangan Common Front 59223 3 New Congolese Regrouping Party/Conaco 56698 4 New Congolese National Party/Conaco 52060 4 New Congolese Regrouping/Conaco 49675 6 New Congolese Democrat Party/Conaco 49039 4 New Luba People's Rally/Conaco 48944 4 New Congolese Democratic Party/Conaco 42878 2 New Movement for the Democratic Evolution of Africa 36441 2 New Association of Socialist Christians of Congo 36430 3 New Congolese National Party 35275 3 New Popular Movement of Sankuru/Conaco 34811 2 New PDR/Conaco 29277 5 New Cartels CONACO/Conaco 23052 1 New Congolese Democratic Rally 19912 1 New Basonge Unity Movement/Conaco 16314 3 +2 National Public Salvation Front/Conaco 15104 1 New CTS–UPP/Conaco 9781 1 New Association of Socialist Christians of Congo 6226 1 New ABAKO 136226 10 –2 AMNCL 3 BALUKABAT 64866 3 New Mouvement National Congolais-Lumumba 31874 2 –34 ATCAR 24710 2 +1 Party of National Unity 82601 4 –4 Parti Solidaire Africain-Kamitatu 79358 4 –9 Mwinda-Bakongo 68750 5 New Budjala Union 32780 1 New ATCAR-ConacoATCAR 25375 1 − Association of Citizens of Tshuapa 22011 2 New Union of the Citizens of Lake Leopold II 19944 1 New Common Front of North Kivu 19179 1 New Congolese Democratic Party 15059 1 New Congolese Rural Party 21861 1 New INTERCOUP-Huapa 11645 1 New BA-LIKOLO 9634 1 New Regional parties 274778 0 0 Independents 12815 1 +1 +30 Sternberger et al.Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Zweiter Halbband, pp2432−2433 Gerard-Libois et al. (coalitions)<ref name=":GL" Following re-runs CONACO-led Coalition 25 Convention Nationale Congolaise 37 New CONAKAT 9 +1 Association of the Wanande of Beni and Lubero 7 New Congolese National Party/Conaco 7 New Congolese Democratic Union 7 New Rally for Congolese Democracy/Conaco 5 New Congolese Regrouping/Conaco 5 New Association of Socialist Christians of Congo 4 New Congolese Democrat Party/Conaco 4 New LUKA 4 +1 Congolese Regrouping Party/Conaco 4 +1 Luba People's Rally/Conaco 4 New African Democratic Union-Lubaya 4 New Katangan Front 3 New Basonge Unity Movement/Conaco 3 +2 Movement for the Democratic Evolution of Africa 2 New Popular Movement of Sankuru/Conaco 2 New Congolese Republican Party 2 New PDR/Conaco 2 New Association of the Akutshu-Anamongo/Conaco 1 New CTS–UPP/Conaco 1 +2 National Public Salvation Front/Conaco 1 New African Socialist Democratic Party/Conaco 1 New Congolese Democratic Party/Conaco 3 New y 122 New ABAKO 10 –2 AMNCL 4 BALUKABAT 3 New Mouvement National Congolais-Lumumba 2 –34 ATCAR 2 +1 y 7 New Parti Solidaire Africain-Kamitatu 7 –6 Mwinda-Bakongo 5 New Party of National Unity 4 -4 Unicentrale 4 New Association of Citizens of Tshuapa 2 New ATCAR-CONACOATCAR ":GL" 1 New BA-LIKOLO 1 New Common Front of North Kivu 1 New Union of the Citizens of Lake Leopold II 1 New Budjala Union 1 New Independents 1 +1 +30 Gerard-Libois et al.<ref name=":GL" Notes References DR Congo Category:Parliamentary elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo General Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results