As readers will know, the DR Congo is currently embroiled in endless debate over a constitutional revision that dare not speak its name. While neither President Kabila nor his party have officially proposed to change the term limits included in the current constitution, we can safely assume that they are at the very least considering it.
As a reminder: Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, and has been twice elected to 5-year terms (2006-2011, 2011-2016), is bound by the current constitution to stand down in 2016. Not only does Article 70 of the constitution say that the president has to step down after two terms, but Article 220 explicitly prohibits any revision of those term limits.
While some members of Kabila's inner circle and presidential majority have already come out in favor of a revision of those term limits--none more vociferously than the head of his PPRD political party, Evariste Boshab--many others both among among the president's allies and the opposition have opposed it. (A list of those positions will be posted here soon).
But the Congo is not the only country facing this problem--many of its peers in Africa are debating similar revisions, and the results elsewhere will certainly have an impact on the Congo. (Listen to Senegalese civil society activist Fadel Barro on this topic here).
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