French Fifth Republic of the election on 9 January 1959. The new president began his office on that date, appointing Michel Debré as Prime Minister. The 1958 constitution also replaced the French Union with the French Community, which allowed fourteen member territories (these did not include Algeria) to assert their independence. 1960 became known as the "Year of Africa" because of this wave of newly independent states. Algeria became independent on 5 July 1962. The president was initially elected by an electoral college, but in 1962 de Gaulle proposed that the president be directly elected by the citizens, and held a referendum on
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo a majority of the vote. If none of the candidates manage to receive the majority of the votes then the top two candidates in the election arrive at a run off. This allows smaller parties to have a greater impact on the outcome of elections, thus guaranteeing a multi-party system, as opposed to a two-party system. After the president is elected, he goes through a solemn investiture ceremony. Historical: President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (, , ), is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of the