07 June 2005 :

the elimination of all references to the death penalty in the constitutional project approved by the DRC’s National Assembly on May 13 showed the country’s will to create the foundations for a democratic regime with the full respect of human rights, declared Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The new constitution also envisaged the separation of power between the President (elected every five years), the Prime Minister and Parliament. The text was due to be put to a popular referendum most probably before the end of 2005.