DRC new National Assembly of the 3rd Republic has been inaugurated today, Friday September 22, 2006 in “Palais du Peuple” of Kinshasa and welcomed the 500 newly elected deputies.

The elected deputies on July 30, 2006 in the first free and democratic elections since more than 40 years have held their first Assembly today, Friday September 22, 2006.

The session started with the election of a provisional cabinet led, as DRC Constitution states, by the most senior deputy Joseph Mbenza Thubi.

The first tasks of the new Assembly will consist of organizing its internal structure and issues relating to its functioning.

The provisional results of the July 30 parliament elections published by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) suggests the Alliance of the Presidential Majority (AMP) of president Kabila has the highest number of deputies in the National Assembly. Rally for Congolese Nationalists (RENACO) led by Vice-president JP Bemba ranks the second.

The Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU) led by Antoine Gizenga and the Union of Mobutists Démocrats (UDEMO) led by Nzanga Mobutu, son of DRC late former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, made it clear that they will give their support to J. Kabila for the presidential run-off as well as the AMP in the National Assembly.

This Assembly is characterized, among others, by relatively high number of independent deputies elected and weak representation of women who did not even reach 10% altogether.

In a press release, MONUC welcomed the newly inaugurated institution: "The National Assembly is the first institution inaugurated under the new constitution of the historic transition toward peace and democracy in DRC. MONUC congratulates particularly the Congolese and elected members of the National Assembly for this remarkable work."

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Translated by Birgit Gorbach / MONUC