a. Renamed from "Democratic Republic of the Congo" (
République démocratique du Congo) on 27 October 1971.
b. Changed from "Léopoldville" in 1966.
c. Zaire became a
de jure one-party state on December 23, 1970,
but had been a
de facto one-party state since May 20, 1967, the date on which the
MPR (
Mouvement Populaire de la Revolution) was established. Zaire formally adopted a multiparty system on April 24, 1990,
when Mobutu delivered a speech proclaiming the end of the one-party system. The country adopted multipartyism
de jure with the passage of Law No. 90-002 of July 5, 1990, which amended its constitution accordingly.
d. 1990–1997.