- Title: Congo bishops urge 2017 presidential vote, ban on constitutional change.
- Date: 26th October 2016
- Summary: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (RECENT) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** STREET SCENES EXTERIOR OF BUILDING OF HE NATIONAL EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF CONGO (CENCO) MEMBER OF CENCO, ABBOT DONATIEN SHOLE ENTERING ROOM FOR NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS WAITING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) MEMBER OF CENCO MEMBER, ABBOT DONATIEN SHOLE SAYING: "In regards to the major (political) differences that we currently face, the bishops have deemed it necessary and urgent to call on all parties involved to come together, when convenient, to address these differences in the interest of the country." DELEGATES AT DIALOGUE MEETING DIALOGUE FACILITATOR, EDEN KODJO SEATED IN MIDDLE OF TWO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AFRICAN UNION (AU) AND THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) DELEGATES LOOKING ON OPPOSITION LEADER AND CO-MODERATOR FOR THE OPPOSITION, VITAL KAMERE SIGNING AGREEMENT CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVE, MARIE DELENE KALALA SIGNING AGREEMENT DELEGATES CLAPPING (SOUNDBITE) (French) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE RULING COALITION, ALAIN ATUNDU SAYING: "The final provision of the agreement is that all the other parties that did not participate can at any moment, come and join us and sign the agreement." NATIONAL DEPUTY FOR OPPOSITION PARTY REFORMIST FORCES FOR UNION AND SOLIDARITY (FONUS) HEMERY OKUNJI WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (French) NATIONAL DEPUTY FOR OPPOSITION PARTY REFORMIST FORCES FOR UNION AND SOLIDARITY (FONUS) HEMERY OKUNJI SAYING: "Why does the ruling majority support this agreement? It's precisely because it was signed to benefit the ruling majority, as they continue to violate the constitution, as long as there is power sharing. Whereas for us, and the rest of the country, and as you saw during our peaceful protests, our main goal remains to uphold the constitution. That's the difference." STREET SCENES (SOUNDBITE) (French) KINSHASA RESIDENT, SENGA CHRETIEN SAYING: "What guarantees do we have that since this agreement was signed that the people from the ruling majority will no longer come up with other methods to try and change the constitution, especially in regards to the referendum? What assures us that this agreement will be respected?" (SOUNDBITE) (French) KINSHASA RESIDENT, JEAN PIERRE KAYEMBE SAYING: "No, having another dialogue will be asking for too much. We have already lost a lot of time with consultations in order to have the agreement that we have today. In my opinion, given that we lost a lot of time in the past, what we need to do now is to encourage direct contact between the principal actors from both sides to try and find a middle ground." SUPPORTERS OF MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY UNION FOR DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL PROGRESS (UPDS) CHEERING UPDS LEADER, ETIENNE TSHISEKEDI ARRIVING AT PARTY HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (French) POLITICAL ANALYST, DANIEL SAFU SAYING: "We did not get the results that we hoped for in this agreement, meaning that in order to have national cohesion and end the political crisis that the ruling majority has created, the artificial crisis that they have created, I think we need to adopt the language of the Catholic church and call for a more inclusive dialogue. The fact that a group of opposition parties headed by Etienne Tshisekedi did not take part in this accord means that we will have achieved nothing. We would be going back to zero, and as the Catholic Church said, we need another dialogue, a more inclusive dialogue with the Congolese people and we still have to consider the biggest element here, which is that we cannot talk about ending the Congolese crisis without including Tshisekedi. We cannot." STREET SCENES
- Embargoed: 10th November 2016 15:01
- Keywords: Joseph Kabila Dialogue Opposition Third term Elections Protests Constitutional terms
- Location: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
- City: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
- Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00155N5ZYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Democratic Republic of Congo's influential Catholic Church has urged politicians to renegotiate a deal struck this month to ensure a presidential election is held next year. They also want President Joseph Kabila forbidden from standing for a third term.
In a country where more than 40 percent of Congolese identify as Catholic and where confidence in other institutions is weak, the Congolese church has long been regarded as a moral compass.
Democratic Republic of Congo's ruling coalition and part of the opposition have agreed to delay the vote from this November to April 2018, citing logistical and budgetary difficulties enrolling millions of voters.
But the vast central African country's main opposition bloc has denounced the accord as a pretext to allow Kabila to cling to power beyond the end of his mandate in December.
"In regards to the major (political) differences that we currently face, the bishops have deemed it necessary and urgent to call on all parties involved to come together, when convenient, to address these differences in the interest of the country," said a member of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo Abbot Donatien Shole.
The agreement removed language from an earlier draft that would have barred any changes to the constitution before the next election, leaving room for Kabila to change the constitution so that he can run again, his opponents say.
The government denies these accusations.
"The final provision of the agreement is that all the other parties that did not participate can at any moment, come and join us and sign the agreement," said ruling majority spokesperson, Alain Atundu.
Opposition leaders have promised further protests to oust Kabila from power, raising fears of a return to widespread violence in a country where millions have died in civil conflicts since the 1990s and rebel groups continue to wreak anarchy in eastern regions.
"Why does the ruling majority support this agreement? It's precisely because it was signed to benefit the ruling majority, as they continue to violate the constitution, as long as there is power sharing. Whereas for us, and the rest of the country, and as you saw during our peaceful protests, our main goal remains to uphold the constitution. That's the difference," said Hemery Okunju, national deputy for opposition party, Reformist Forces For Union and Solidarity (FONUS).
According to a poll conducted by the Congo Research Group at New York University in collaboration with a Congolese polling institute published this week, over 81 percent of the respondents oppose changing the constitution to allow Kabila to stand for a third term.
Seventy four percent say he should leave office this year.
The results, which varied little based on socio-economic status, gender and religion, show a marked drop in support for Kabila, who officially won 48.9 percent of the vote in 2011, a consequence of a lack of economic development and poor security.
In the capital Kinshasa, opinions are mixed on the merits of the recent agreement between the ruling majority and opposition.
"What guarantees do we have that since this agreement was signed that the people from the ruling majority will no longer come up with other methods to try and change the constitution, especially in regards to the referendum? What assures us that this agreement will be respected?" said one resident Senga Chretien.
"No, having another dialogue will be asking for too much. We have already lost a lot of time with consultations in order to have the agreement that we have today. In my opinion, given that we lost a lot of time in the past, what we need to do now is to encourage direct contact between the principal actors from both sides to try and find a middle ground," added another resident Jean Pierre Kayembe.
More than 50 people were killed last month in demonstrations against the extension of Kabila's term.
Congo has never experienced a peaceful transition of power and analysts fear that the impasse over Kabila's plans to stay on will lead to widespread bloodletting, especially with the exclusion of key opposition members.
"We did not get the results that we hoped for in this agreement, meaning that in order to have national cohesion and end the political crisis that the ruling majority has created, the artificial crisis that they have created, I think we need to adopt the language of the Catholic church and call for a more inclusive dialogue. The fact that a group of opposition parties headed by Etienne Tshisekedi did not take part in this accord means that we will have achieved nothing. We would be going back to zero, and as the Catholic Church said, we need another dialogue, a more inclusive dialogue with the Congolese people and we still have to consider the biggest element here, which is that we cannot talk about ending the Congolese crisis without including Tshisekedi. We cannot," said political analyst, Daniel Safu.
On Wednesday (October 26), Kabila attended a regional summit in Angola, which is aimed at winning the support for this month's deal between the opposition and government, under which a power-sharing government is to be named, according to his diplomatic adviser.
The government hopes regional recognition of the accord can help stem growing pressure from the United States and Europe on Kabila to stand down.
Even with that vote of confidence, further turmoil would damage Kabila's image as a guarantor of stability, one diplomat said. The United Nations fears large-scale violence could become "all but inevitable". - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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