The Democratic Republic of Congo was originally a colony of Belgian which was established in 1908. In 1960, the Republic of Congo gained it’s independence of Belgian however; it was tainted with political and social instability in its early years.

In November 1965, Col. Joseph Mobutu lead a coup d’état declaring himself president of the nation. Subsequently, Mobuto changed his name to Mobuto Sese Seko and also changed the name of the nation to Zaire.

Mobutu held his power for 32 years through several sham elections and the use of brutal force. Mobutu’s reign ended because of fighting in Rwanda and Burundi which lead to a huge influx of refugees in 1994. This influx contributed to ethnic strife and civil war, toppling Mobutu’s regime by a rebellion lead by Laurent Kabila in May 1997.

Kabila renamed the country to the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, in August 1998, and insurrection backed by Rwanda and Uganda tried to usurp Kabila’s rule but, troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan and Zimbabwe intervened in support of the Kinshasa regime leading to a cease-fire in July 1999.

Unfortunately, sporadic fighting continued in the country which ultimately lead to the assassination of Laurent Kabila in January 2001. His son Josephy Kabila succeeded him as the head of state. In October 2002 J. Kabila negotiated the withdrawal of Rwandan forces which had been occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity.

A transitional government was setup in July 2003 with Joseph Kabila still as president but he was then joined by four Vice Presidents representing the former government, former rebel groups and the political opposition.

The government plans on holding a series of elections in 2006.

To see a PBS special related to the 2006 Elections, see our Events page.

Information from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html