1965 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election

1965 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election

18 March – 30 April 1965
167 members of the Chamber of Deputies
Prime Minister before election Moïse Tshombe CONAKAT Elected Prime Minister Évariste Kimba FDC

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.

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. 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.

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

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Convention Nationale Congolaise	227,961	9.24	38	New
	CONAKAT	178,302	7.23	9	+1
	Congolese Democratic Union	162,016	6.57	10	New
	ABAKO	136,226	5.52	10	–2
	Association of the Wanande of Beni and Lubero (CONACO)	104,896	4.25	7	New
	Rally for Congolese Democracy (CONACO)	91,475	3.71	4	New
	Party of National Unity	82,601	3.35	4	–4
	Parti Solidaire Africain-Kamitatu	79,358	3.22	4	–9
	Mwinda-Bakongo	68,750	2.79	5	New
	BALUKABAT	64,866	2.63	3	New
	African Democratic Union-Lubaya	64,845	2.63	4	New
	LUKA	62,856	2.55	4	+1
	Katangan Common Front	59,223	2.40	3	New
	Congolese Regrouping Party (CONACO)	56,698	2.30	4	New
	Congolese National Party (CONACO)	52,060	2.11	4	New
	Congolese Regrouping (CONACO)	49,675	2.01	6	New
	Congolese Democrat Party (CONACO)	49,039	1.99	4	New
	Luba People's Rally (CONACO)	48,944	1.98	4	New
	Congolese Democratic Party (CONACO)	42,878	1.74	2	New
	Movement for the Democratic Evolution of Africa	36,441	1.48	2	New
	Association of Socialist Christians of Congo	36,430	1.48	3	New
	Congolese National Party	35,275	1.43	3	New
	Popular Movement of Sankuru (CONACO)	34,811	1.41	2	New
	Budjala Union	32,780	1.33	1	New
	Mouvement National Congolais-Lumumba	31,874	1.29	2	–34
	PDR (CONACO)	29,277	1.19	5	New
	ATCAR (CONACO)	25,375	1.03	1	−
	ATCAR	24,710	1.00	2	+1
	Convention Nationale Congolaise cartels	23,052	0.93	1	New
	Association of Citizens of Tshuapa	22,011	0.89	2	New
	Congolese Rural Party	21,861	0.89	1	New
	Union of the Citizens of Lake Leopold II	19,944	0.81	1	New
	Congolese Democratic Rally	19,912	0.81	1	New
	Common Front of North Kivu	19,179	0.78	1	New
	Basonge Unity Movement (CONACO)	16,314	0.66	3	+2
	Congolese Democratic Party	15,059	0.61	1	New
	National Public Salvation Front (CONACO)	15,104	0.61	1	New
	INTERCOUP-Huapa	11,645	0.47	1	New
	CTS–UPP (CONACO)	9,781	0.40	1	New
	BA-LIKOLO	9,634	0.39	1	New
	Association of Socialist Christians of Congo	6,226	0.25	1	New
	Regional parties	274,778	11.14	0	0
	Independents	12,815	0.52	1	+1
Total		2,466,957	100.00	167	+30
Source: Sternberger et al.