1965 French presidential election allies of the Gaullists. 1965 French presidential election The 1965 French presidential election, held on 5 December and 19 December, was the first direct presidential election in the Fifth Republic and the first since the Second Republic in 1848. It had been widely expected that incumbent president Charles de Gaulle would be re-elected, but the election was notable for the unexpectedly strong performance of his left-wing challenger François Mitterrand. This was the second presidential election since the beginning of the Fifth Republic. Under the first draft of the 1958 constitution, the president was elected by an electoral college, in order
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo a semi-presidential republic. The president is protected by the Republican Guard. The constitutional mandate of the current president, Joseph Kabila, was due to expire on 20 December 2016 but was extended by him until the end of 2017. The semi-presidential system established by the constitution is largely borrowed from the French constitution. Although it is the prime minister and parliament that oversee much of the nation's actual lawmaking, the president wields significant influence, both formally and from constitutional convention. The president holds the nation's most senior office, and outranks all other politicians. Perhaps the president's greatest power is his or