At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Joseph KABILA*
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Bruno TSHIBALA
• Assembly: Democratic Republic of the Congo has a bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consisting of the Senate (Sénat) with 108 seats and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 500 seats.

* President Joseph KABILA will not be seeking re-election.

Description of electoral system:

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a semi-presidential republic. The President is directly elected through a First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system for  a 5-year term that is renewable only once.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, usually from the majority party or coalition in the National Assembly.
• In the Senate (Sénat) 108 members are indirectly elected by provincial assemblies through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.
• In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), there are 62 single member constituencies and 438 multi-member constituencies. In single-member constituencies, the winner is decided by simple majority via FPTP.  In multi-member constituencies (two or more seats), a single vote is cast for open proportional representation lists.  All members of the National Assembly serve 5-year terms.

Main candidates in the election:*

• Candidate: Emmanuel Ramazani SHADARY
  • Party: Independent
• Candidate: Martin FAYULU
  • Party: Engagement for Citizenship and Development Party / Partie d’Engagement pour la Citoyenneté et le Développement**
• Candidate: Felix TSHISEKEDI
  • Party: Union for Democracy and Social Porgress / Union pour la Démocratie et la progrés social (UDPS)
• Candidate: Vital KAMERHE
  • Union for the Congolese Nation / Union pour la Nation Conglaise (UNC)

* There are 21 candidates running in this election.

** Five opposition leaders have agreed to support Martin FAYULU in this race.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 84,004,989 (2018 est.)
• Registered Voters: 40,287,387 (2018)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 42,084,693 (2018 est.)
• Is the Democratic Republic of the Congo a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
• Has the Democratic Republic of the Congo ratified CEDAW: Yes (17 October 1986)
• Gender Quota: Yes
• Female candidates in this election:
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 44 (National Assembly); 5 (Senate)
• Human Development Index Position: 176 (2018)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

• Is the Democratic Republic of the Congo a signatory to CRPD: No
• Has ratified CRPD: Yes (30 September 2015 accession)
• Population with a disability: 11,906,270 (2018 est.)