People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy

{{short description|Political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{more citations needed|date=September 2017}}

{{Infobox political party

| name = People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy

| native_name = Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie

| native_name_lang = fr

| logo = People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy.png

| leader = Joseph Kabila

| president = Aubin Minaku (interim)

| leader1_title = Vice-president

| leader1_name = Aubin Minaku

| founder = Joseph Kabila

| foundation = {{start date|2002|03|31|df=yes}}

| ideology = {{Nowrap|Social democracy}}

| position = Centre-left to left-wing{{cite book |last=Milios|first=Rita|editor1-last=Rotberg|editor1-first=Robert I.|date=2013|title=Democratic Republic of Congo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eiiXDAAAQBAJ&q=People%27s+Party+for+Reconstruction+and+Democracy+congo+left-wing|publisher=Mason Crest|via=Google Books|isbn=9781422294352|type=e-book|quote="The left-wing PPRD was President Joseph Kabila's party."}}

| international =

| national = Alliance of the Presidential Majority (2006–2018)
Common Front for Congo (2018–)

| colours = Yellow, blue

| colorcode = {{party color|People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy}}

| headquarters = Gombe, Kinshasa

| seats1_title = Seats in the National Assembly

| seats1 = {{Composition bar|0|500|hex={{party color|People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy}}}}

| seats2_title = Seats in the Senate

| seats2 = {{Composition bar|1|109|hex={{party color|People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy}}}}{{cref|A}}

| website = {{URL|http://pprd.cd/fr/index.html}}

| country = the Democratic Republic of the Congo

| footnotes = {{cnote|A|Kabila serves as senator for life}}

}}

The People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy ({{langx|fr|Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie}} or PPRD) is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the political structure established by the former president of the country, Joseph Kabila.

In the 2006 general election, the PPRD won 111 out of 500 seats in the lower house of parliament and became the largest party in parliament. The 2006 general election was the first free election since the 1960s.

{{cite news

| author1 = Franz Wild

| author2 = Michael J. Kavanagh

| author3 = Jonathan Ferziger

| title = Gertler Earns Billions as Mine Deals Fail to Enrich Congo

| date = December 5, 2012

| url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-05/gertler-earns-billions-as-mine-deals-leave-congo-poorest.html

| publisher = Bloomberg

| accessdate = March 20, 2013}} On November 27, 2006, the presidential candidate supported by the PPRD, Joseph Kabila, was declared the winner of the 2006 Presidential elections, by the Supreme Court of Justice.

In the 19 January 2007 Senate elections, the party won 22 out of 108 seats.

In the 2011 general election, the PPRD lost nearly half of its seats in the lower house of parliament, dropping to 63 out of 500 seats. Nevertheless, the PPRD retained its position as the largest party in parliament.

The party was the leading component of the Alliance of the Presidential Majority, which was the majority bloc in the National Assembly during the presidency of Joseph Kabila.

The party, and its coalition, the Common Front for Congo (FFC) chose not partake in the electoral process in the 2023 elections, citing unmet demands such as representation of the FCC within CENI, an independent, balanced constitutional court, a consensual electoral law that guarantees greater transparency, security for opposition members, and the restoration of security in the eastern part of the DRC as well as in the province of Mai-Ndombe.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-16 |title=Kinshasa : le FCC réitère les préalables à sa participation au processus électoral |url=https://www.radiookapi.net/2023/10/16/actualite/societe/kinshasa-le-fcc-reitere-les-prealables-sa-participation-au-processus |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=Radio Okapi |language=fr}} Kabila has since left the country for his doctoral project as well as for security reasons, only returning if given security guarantees.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-06 |title=En RDC, Joseph Kabila restructure son parti politique, le PPRD |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20250306-en-rdc-joseph-kabila-restructure-son-parti-politique-le-pprd |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=RFI |language=fr}}

In March 2025, Kabila began a comprehensive reorganization and professionalization of the PPRD, targeting the 2028 general elections. Aubin Minaku, vice-president of the PPRD, is currently serving as interim president. In April 2025, the Congolese government suspended the party, citing Kabila's "overt" activism following his visit to the M23-held city of Goma.{{Cite web |title=Congo suspends Kabila's political party over rebel 'ties' |date=20 April 2025 |work=Africanews |url=https://www.africanews.com/2025/04/20/congo-suspends-kabilas-political-party-over-rebel-ties/}}