Last night on the local news in DRC it was reported that the former president of the national assembly (parliament) Evariste Boshab has just written a book called "Between the Revision of the Constitution and the starvation of the Nation" where he explains the necessity of revising the Congolese constitution. One can clearly predicts what the DRC government and Kabila are planning already 3 years before the next presidential elections in 2016. Current president Kabila is not to stand again given the constitution has a provision mandating only two presidential terms. What is predictable is that these guys in the DRC government want to change the constitution to remove the two-terms limit for DRC presidency... so the regime is using intellectuals and lawyers to morally prepare the population to the new constitutional change to be coming up soon, thus the publication of that new book which argues that all constitutions are to be revised and amended according to the realities. What the government is trying to do is unconstitutional given Article 70 and Article 220 of the Congolese constitution is very clear. Article 70 Francais: Le Président de la République est élu au suffrage universel direct pour un mandat de cinq ans renouvelable une seule fois. A la fin de son mandat, le Président de la République reste en fonction jusqu’à l’installation effective du nouveau Président élu. English: The President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of five years which is renewable only once. At the end of his term, the President stays in office until the President-Elect effectively assumes his functions. Article 220 Francais: La forme républicaine de l’Etat, le principe du suffrage universel, la forme représentative du Gouvernement, le nombre et la durée des mandats du Président de la République, l’indépendance du pouvoir judiciaire, le pluralisme politique et syndical, ne peuvent faire l’objet d’aucune révision constitutionnelle. Est formellement interdite toute révision constitutionnelle ayant pour objet ou pour effet de réduire les droits et libertés de la personne, ou de réduire les prérogatives des provinces et des entités territoriales décentralisées. English: The republican form of the State, the principle of universal suffrage, the representative form of government, the number and length of the terms of office of the President of the Republic, the independence of the Judicial Power, the pluralism of political parties and trade unions may not form the object of a Constitutional amendment. Any constitutional amendment having as its objective or consequence the reduction of individuals rights and liberties or the reductions of the prerogatives of the provinces and decentralized territorial entities is formally prohibited. Here is the current constitution as it is after the 2011 amendments to it asareca.org/PAAP/Policy%20Instruments/DR%20Congo%20Constitution%20Revised%202011.pdf Last election, here were the amendments that were made in the constitution to allow Kabila to steal the elections: 1. Remove second round of elections making it very easy for Kabila to win during the first round 2. Give the president the power to fire governors of provinces at will. 3. Give the president power to dissolve provincial governments at will. 4. Add over a dozen new supreme court judges to the DRC Supreme Court. 5. and many more crazy stuff It is very important for Congo supporters to understand what is going on now preparing another fraudulent elections to stifle democratic aspirations of the Congolese people. As some of Congo the supporters focus on conflict minerals, it will be equally important and necessary to support democracy in Congo by working in partnership with Congolese. Note: On January 2, 2012 at 6 am, the son of Evarist Boshab, Yann Boshab killed 4 people and injured one in a car accident near the South African embassy in downtown Kinshasa. He was flown away out of the Congo by his father to hide him so that he cannot face justice.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 23:33:42 +0000
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