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.[1]
 | |||
| |||
167 members of the Chamber of Deputies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| |||
The elections were won by parties allied with the Congolese National Convention, led by former secessionist leader Moise Tshombe, which won a total of 80 seats.[2] 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, Goma-Rutshuru, Cuvette Centrale, Fizi, Kwilu and Maniema, which were held between 8 and 22 August 1965.[1]
Despite Tshombe's party winning the election, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu appointed Évariste Kimba of the Congolese Democratic Front Prime Minister, a situation which ultimately led to Joseph Mobutu carrying out a military coup in November. By the next election in 1970, Mobutu had eliminated all opposition parties, allowing his Popular Movement of the Revolution to run unopposed. As a result, the 1965 election would be the last in which opposition parties were allowed to participate until 2006.
Results
editReferences
edit- ^ a b DRC: Electoral Operation of the 1965 election Archived 2010-09-02 at the Wayback Machine EISA
- ^ Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p292 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
- ^ Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Zweiter Halbband, pp2432−2433