{Congo’s constitutional court said Wednesday the president can stay in office beyond his mandate if there is a delay in presidential elections, slated for November.}<\/p>\n
President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power since 2001 and is meant to leave office in December, is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term.<\/p>\n
The opposition has voiced concerns for some time that Kabila would delay elections to stay in power.<\/p>\n
“Following the principle of continuity for the state and to avoid a lack of head of state, the current president remains in office until the installation of a newly-elected president,” said the Constitutional Court statement read by its head, Benoit Luamba Bintu. The court was responding to a request to clarify the matter by a coalition of political parties that back the president.<\/p>\n
The electoral commission has warned it would be difficult to hold the election within the constitutional timeline.<\/p>\n
The commission’s head, Corneille Nangaa, had called for a political agreement to allow for the body to organize the election beyond November 2016.<\/p>\n
Mass protests erupted last year against proposed changes to the electoral law, widely seen as a ploy to prolong Kabila’s rule. A security crackdown killed more than 40 people at demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said. The revision was scrapped.<\/p>\n
Congo has not had a peaceful transfer of power in its 55 years of independence.<\/p>\n
In recent months, the United Nations has denounced what it calls arbitrary arrests of opponents and activists and the U.S. has expressed concern about legal action against pro-democracy activists. The U.S. has in the past called for adherence to the constitutional electoral timeline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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