Zaire STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
Official presidential residence, Kinshasa
Courtesy Zaire National Tourism Office
Under Mobutu, the government of Zaire has generally
been
described as a republic with strong presidential
authority. Indeed,
on paper at least Zaire possesses most of the conventional
organs
of a modern republic: separate executive, legislative, and
judicial
branches. However, mere enumeration of the organs of
government
conveys little about how they function. It is more useful
to
conceive of Zaire under Mobutu as being governed according
to a
system that has been variously described as
patrimonialism
(see Glossary) or as a presidential monarchy, in which the
president
exercises near-absolute power.
Zaire's constitutional situation has been murky since
Mobutu's
proclamation of the Third Republic and ostensible
authorization of
a multiparty system in 1990. The 1974 constitution
(amended in
1978) is the last permanent constitution. The
Mobutu-appointed
government of national salvation headed by Birindwa was
based on
that constitution. Opposition forces, however looked to
the
Transitional Act, which was passed by the CNS as a
provisional
constitution in August 1992 and subsequently upheld by the
Supreme
Court as the country's only legitimate constitution. The
transitional government headed by Tshisekedi was elected
by the CNS
on the basis of that document, which, broadly, established
a
parliamentary system with a figurehead president.
Throughout 1992 and 1993, both camps continued to
formulate
rival draft constitutions. In October 1993, agreement
reportedly
was reached on a new constitution acceptable to both
sides, but no
details were available, and the agreement has not been
implemented.
At year's end, the constitutional standoff persisted, but
because
Mobutu controlled the state's treasury and military
apparatus, the
old political system clearly prevailed.
Data as of December 1993
|