•Due to the repression of opposition figures, the lack of power invested in the judiciary, and the targeting of media freedom, the Kabila regimes do not meet the minimal requirements for democracy.!•The appointment of a fictional candidate, Ilunga, created by his opponent indicates that despite the success of free and fair elections in 2006, patronage networks and authoritarian procedures, rather than democratic institutions based on the rule of law, characterize the regime.!•During the late 190s and early 1990s there was a proliferation of states experimenting with democratic rule in what Samuel Huntington termed the “third wave of democracy,” but the most impressive growth was of pseudodemocracies, in which elections and democratic institutions mask authoritarian elements. !•In democratic discourse there has been a proliferation in labels applied to pseudodemocratic hybrid-regime forms such as illiberal democracy, electoral democracy, semidemocracy, semidictatorship, electoral authoritarianism, soft authoritarianism, semi-authoritarianism, and competitive authoritarianism. !•Modern democracies have a legislature and executive are chosen through free and fair elections, virtually all adults have the right to vote, political rights, including the freedom of the press and freedom to criticize the government without reprisals, are protected, and elected leaders are given real authority to govern.!•Competitive authoritarian regimes have been characterized by Levitsky and Way as having massive fraud, manipulated results, and harassed and jailed opposers.!•In competitive authoritarian regimes, arenas of democratic contestation exist through which the opposition can periodically challenge, weaken, and in some cases overthrow the leadership.!•The Democratic Republic of the Congo adopted a constitution rooted in political liberalism that had universal suffrage, multiparty elections, and a 30 year old minimum age of presidential candidates.!•Electoral arena - Approximately 18 million people across the country turned out to vote in 2006 and Kabila won with 58% of the vote.!•Media - While intense competition throughout the election period was facilitated by a relatively independent media, most media outlets were biased in their depiction of parties and candidates and owned by them, and in a number of cases resorting to personal attacks.!•While the elections were generally peaceful, the afternoon of the presidential runoff saw an outbreak of violence between parties triggered by media reports leaving 23 people dead and 43 wounded.!•In power, the Kabila government has applied subtle pressure to curb the constitutionally embedded freedom of expression and freedom of press upon which Congolese media independence is built.!•Legislature - There was a massive proliferation in political parties, with 267 registered parties standing established to promote the interests of individuals rather than collective benefit.!•Key opposition figures including Bemba have used their position to criticize government policy, particularly its human-rights record, while government represses it.!•Judiciary - In the Mobutu period the judiciary functioned at the pleasure of the executive when it functioned at all.!•A casual glance at the electoral period shows that the Kabila government is not purely authoritarian and the presence of competitions is evident in the intensive campaigning by political parties and the contested nature of the results.!•While the elections were widely regarded as free, fair, and open, Kabila used various methods, including the manipulation of state resources, to tip the electoral balance in his favor.!•Elections are important moments in which citizens can exert influence over the ruling elite, yet in democratic systems they must be reinforced by strong democratic institutions, effective opposition, and active citizen participation during the interelection period.!•A diverse and independent media is well established as a cornerstone of the Congolese political tradition, while the Kabila regime has increasingly worked to infringe upon the democratic contestation through intimidation and arrest to hinder criticism.!•Since Kabila was inaugurated, opposition parties have played a small role in politics because of the direct marginalization of the opposition by the government that reflects the nature of Congolese political parties.!•The regime has entrenched the independence of the judiciary in the constitution.!•The Kabila regime cannot be classified as authoritarian or democratic, but it is a hybrid regime situated in the gray zone between democracy and authoritarianism, it is a competitive authoritarian regime.!•Since 1885, the DRC has experienced extractive colonialism, a short-lived democratic regime.!•Mobutu had a particularly far-reaching influence on the Congolese political tradition, largely due to the length of his rule and the effect of his regime on the Congolese psyche, where corruption and patronage became established as socially accepted cornerstones of the Congolese political tradition.!•From independence until the mid-1980s the regime profited from high levels of export earnings based on the country’s abundant resources.!•The significant decrease in state revenue from falling copper prices, corruption, and inefficiency directly undermined Mobutu’s capacity to reward loyalty among his vast network of clients, oppening opportunities for unruly strongmen to threaten the authority of the government.!•Despite a change in leadership, corruption and patronage continue to pervade the Congolese political system where the overrepresentation of cabinet members was loyal to Kabila.!•High levels of corruption and patronage have undermined the establishment of transparent, democratic institutions.!•Democracy is not merely a foreign concept in the DRC but has historical roots in Congolese society.!•A sustained popular movement has pushed for Congolese democratization since the early 1980s.!•In the early 1990s the Mobutu regime turned to democracy in an attempt to retain power in the face of state failure.!•While there has been a long-standing democratic movement in the DRC, democratic reform in the post-conflict period has failed to incorporate this.!•Despite the apparent success of the elections, there is not a lot of popular support for the current regime.!•It was only when the state was on the verge of collapse
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