International

Kabila to stay in power 2 more yrs as govt shifts election

Published

8 years ago

October 16, 2016

Kabila to stay in power 2 more yrs as govt shifts election

President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo has succeeded in stretching his stay in power beyond his term following government’s declaration that it will push back next month’s presidential election to April 2018.

The move, expected to keep Kabila in office until the delayed vote was made known after talks between the ruling coalition and smaller parties.

Reports also reveal that the declaration has angered the main opposition bloc, which earlier boycotted cross-party discussions.

“The main opposition coalition have not been part of the dialogue that led to this decision,” Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from Kampala in neighbouring Uganda, said.

“They say that the dialogue is not fair, not transparent and it is part of what they say is Kabila’s attempt to over-stay in office.”

But earlier this month, Corneille Nangaa, the electoral commission president, told delegates participating in the cross-party talks that the body would not be able to conclude its update of the voter registry in time, and would need extra time to organise an election.

“The Congolese government has initially said that it didn’t have the money to hold elections,” a correspondent said.

“They later said that there were logistical challenges for them to update the electoral register,” Webb added.“But the opposition wants an election much sooner, and crucially what they do not agree to is Kabila leading an interim government after he ends his second constitutional term in December”, he added.

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