After a four-year interlude between two constitutions, with new political institutions established at the various levels of government, as well as new administrative divisions for the provinces throughout the country, a new constitution came into effect in 2006 and politics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo finally settled into a stable presidential democratic republic. The 2003 transitional constitution had established a parliament with a bicameral legislature, consisting of a Senate and a National Assembly.
The cuisine of the Democratic Republic of the Congo varies widely, representing the food of indigenous people. Cassava is generally the staple food usually eaten with other side dishes.
The defining feature of the country is the second largest rainforest in the world. Rivers large and small snake throughout the country and with a poor road network remains the main means of transport to this day.