President Kabila has not confirmed it himself, but most Congolese today believe it to be true: The incumbent, in power since 2001--and democratically elected in 2006 and (controversially) in 2011-- would like to be able to stay on for another term. To do so, he would have to change the constitution, which, in Article 220, explicitly forbids tampering with presidential term limits.
If he does want to change the term limits, he could either do through the legal avenue : having a joint session of the senate and national assembly approve the revision by a three-fifths majority--although this would be an obvious violation of Article 220. Or, as proponents of a revision have pointed out, by submitting a revision or an entirely new constitution to a popular referendum. Finally, he could simply circumvent the question by changing other articles in the constitution--the length of the mandate, for example, or how the president is elected (he could be appointed by parliament, as in Angola or South Africa)--and then say that he can serve for another two terms under this new dispensation.
However, the debate surrounding the constitutional revision has split the political elite. As Jean-Claude Muyambo, head of the SCODE political party and member of the president's camp, (over) states: "We can no longer speak of the majority and opposition, there are two camps: Those who say yes to changing the constitution and those who say no."
So who falls on either side?
[view whole blog post
]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
See More
Report Abuse