At stake in this election:

• 500 seats in the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Joseph KABILA
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Adolphe MUZITO **
• Assembly: Democratic Republic of the Congo has a bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consisting of the Senate (Sénat) with 112 seats and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 500 seats.

** Usually from the majority party or coalition in the National Assembly (lower house).

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
• In the Senate (Sénat) 112 members are indirectly elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms*. In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), 60 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 440 members are elected by open list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.**

* Members are elected by regional legislatures. Each multi-member district corresponds to one of 26 provinces or Kinshasha. The magnitude of each district is 4, except Kinshasha, whose magnitude is 8. The electoral system is open-list PR. Former Presidents may be Senators ex officio.

** There are 109 multi-member districts in the list tier. Minimum magnitude is 2. Each voter gets two votes: one in either tier.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) / Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Democratie
  Leader: Joseph KABILA
  
• Party: Movement for the Liberation of Congo / Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo (MLC)
  Leader: Jean-Pierre BEMBA
  
• Party: Union pour la Nation Congolaise (UNC)
  Leader: Vital KAMERHE
  
• Party: Congolese Rally for Democracy / Rassemblement Congloais pour la Democratie
  Leader: Azaria RUBERWA
  
• Party: Social Movement for Renewal (MSR) / Mouvement Social pour le Renouveau
  Leader: Pierre LUMBI
  
• Party: Christian Democratic Party / Parti Démocrate Chrétien (PDC)
  Leader: Jose Endundo BONONGE
  

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 71,712,867 (July 2011 est.)
• Registered Voters: 32,024,640 (November 2011 )