Very interesting blog post today about the upcoming election in the Congo and President Joseph Kabila‘s efforts to remain in power. Kabila came into office after the assassination of his father in 2001 and was reelected in 2006. He is very unpopular in the capital of Kinshasa, as he hails from the eastern region of the Congo, and is clearly concerned about his ability to be reelected once more.
Basically, his plan is to change the constitution (which is apparently easy to do in the Congo) so that there is no runoff stage of the election, hoping that he can win a popular vote even if he does not receive a vote from the majority of Congolese. With Congo’s fractious political system, this is a savvy more on Kabila’s part and could play a large role in the outcome of the elections later this year.
Pingback: New Developments in Congo’s Presidential Election | Congo Leadership Initiative