"The opposition is weak and has huge funding constraints while the president has so much control over the electoral process and the media."
Congo's Republic President Denis Sassou-Nguesso arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 7, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol (Reuters)
Congo Republic's
government announced on Tuesday it would hold a referendum this month on
constitutional change, in a move that could allow veteran President Denis Sassou Nguesso to extend his decades-long rule.
The 71-year-old former military commander has
ruled Congo Republic, an oil producer, for all but five years since
1979. He won his previous terms in disputed elections in 2002 and 2009.
While Sassou Nguesso has not officially declared
his candidacy for the June 2016 presidential election, he is widely
expected to seek a third term. The constitution of 2002 limits the
number of terms to two and excludes candidates over 70.
"The government is charged with putting the
constitutional project at the disposition of the Congolese so that its
contents can be widely diffused and debated," said government spokesman Thierry Lezin Moungalla late on Monday. The vote will take place on October 25.
Clément Miérassa, leader of the Congolese Social Democratic Party (PSDC) which is part of a coalition of opposition parties, called the announcement a "constitutional coup".
"We will use all possible democratic means to block this project which is a blow to Congolese democracy," he told Reuters by telephone, renewing an earlier call for peaceful protests.
AFRICAN LEADERS' TERM LIMITS
With several long-time African leaders
approaching term limits in the coming years, the political manoeuvring
in the former French colony is being closely watched.
A move by Burkina Faso a year ago to change the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaore to run for a third term led to a popular uprising that toppled him after 27 years in power.
In neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo,
street violence erupted in January amid suspicions the president was
seeking to extend his mandate.
Moungalla said the ruling Congolese Labour
Party's (PCT)campaign will run from Oct 9-23. That will leave little
time for the opposition to organise a counter-campaign, said Control
Risks senior analyst Christoph Wille.
"This is highly likely to play in Sassou's favour," said Wille. "The
opposition is weak and has huge funding constraints while the president
has so much control over the electoral process and the media."
Still, critics of Sassou whose Mbochi ethnicity
dominates key government posts appear to be growing in confidence. Tens
of thousands of people rallied in the capital to oppose constitutional
change last month in the largest public protest since the end of the
civil war in 1997.
Wille added that there was a risk of localised
unrest in the traditionally stable country, especially in the opposition
strongholds of Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville.
Source: Pulse ng
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