Opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo plan to stage demonstrations on February 16 to protest against President Joseph Kabila’s bid for a third term in office.
President Kabila’s presidency ends in November this year, but several opposition parties suspect he has plans to hang onto power beyond that.
In a statement read to the media on Wednesday by Charles Mwando Nsimba, a member of the Citizen’s Front, the opposition vowed to ensure on the said date, Kinshasa will be a “ghost town” as its supporters will be saying “no to a third term, no to violation of the Constitution and yes to organization of presidential elections within the constitutional time frame.”
“We, as the opposition parties and civil society groups, call upon our citizens, wherever they are, to take part in the Feb. 16 protests to prevent an attack on our Constitution,” the joint statement read.
“On this day, each one of us should come out to give a serious warning to Kabila and all those who want to try to violate our Constitution by remaining in power forever,” the same statement continued.
President Kabila has called for political dialogue to discuss the organization of peaceful and transparent elections. The African Union and the UN Mission for Stabilization of Congo have expressed support for the dialogue.
No comments:
Post a Comment