Congo : Fears in DRC that President Joseph Kabila will run for third term
The opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party has accused Kabila of “scheming” to stay in power.

Dr Congo President Joseph Kabila
DR Congo President Joseph Kabila, whom critics accuse of seeking an illegal third term in office, has been named as a leading figure in a campaign group for the vast African country’s upcoming elections.
The cabinet on Thursday unanimously approved the creation of a “grand political electoral coalition” named the Common Front for Congo (FCC), a report of the ministerial meeting said on Friday.
Designed to “provide support for a single candidate for the presidential elections,” the FCC has named Kabila as its “moral authority,” it said.
The elections — twice postponed — are scheduled for December 23.
The opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party has accused Kabila of “scheming” to stay in power.
Kabila took over from his assassinated father in 2001, and presides over a country with a dark reputation for corruption, poor governance and violence.
He has not clearly stated whether he will step aside despite appeals from the United States, France and Britain for him to clearly state that he will not seek re-election.
He was obligated to step down at the end of 2016 after he reached his two-term constitutional limit, but a constitutional clause has allowed him to remain in office until his successor is elected.
Escalating tension over Kabila’s future has fuelled protests, leading to a security crackdown that has claimed dozens of lives and caused concern among the Democratic Republic of Congo’s neighbours.
Last month, activists of the ruling People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) put up posters in the capital declaring Kabila to be “our candidate.”
It remains unclear if Kabila will run for a constitutionally prohibited third term in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s two-year delayed elections
Presidential hopefuls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have until Wednesday to file their candidacy with the electoral commission ahead of an election in December.
The Congolese people are waiting to see if President Joseph Kabila will submit his documents to run again.
He is barred by the Constitution from running for a third term but has not openly declared his intentions.
Former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has submitted his candidacy to the electoral commission.
He returned to his home country after being acquitted of war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands, where he spent 10 years in prison pending his trial.
Source: Starr Radio UK