There have been months of speculations in the Congo about how President Joseph Kabila will approach his own succession. According to the current constitution, he has to step down in December 2016. It is fairly clear, from various public statements (Emmanuel Shadari here, Alain-André Atundu here), as well as private comments, that members of

A week ago, we published a map of armed groups in the Kivus, along with an essay on the recent trends on the conflict. In sum, we argued that armed groups are more numerous, less linked to regional dynamics, and less likely to be used as bargaining chips to obtain

On Wednesday this week, opposition members and civil society activists crowded into the CEPAS conference room in downtown Kinshasa to denounce, yet again, any attempt by President Kabila to change the constitution or to try to delay national elections past 2016. The same day, the spokesperson for the UDPS opposition party

On Monday this week, President Joseph Kabila met with the heads of state institutions––army, parliament, senior judges and prosecutors. The following day, Deputy Prime Minister Evariste Boshab announced that a political dialogue would be held shortly. Ruling party members filled in thedetails: the UDPS, a powerful opposition party led by

The internet convulsed briefly over comments made by President Joseph Kabila’s coalition spokesperson and published by Reuters on Saturday. At a press conference called in Lubumbashi by the provincial commissioner for the new province of Lualaba––apparently an occasion to rally the troops behind the president––André Alain Atundu said: We need to

But the real controversy is not that. The forcing through of the law shows the Congolese government’s determination to hold local elections, currently scheduled for 25 October 2015, before the presidential and national parliamentary elections. This will almost inevitably delay the electoral process, as the local elections are more complicated

But the real controversy is not that. The forcing through of the law shows the Congolese government’s determination to hold local elections, currently scheduled for 25 October 2015, before the presidential and national parliamentary elections. This will almost inevitably delay the electoral process, as the local elections are more complicated

In my posting on the Crisis Group report from a couple of days ago, I said I didn’t know whether they were right that it would be impossible to hold elections by November 28 and that therefore the opposition and majority should hold talks to postpone the polls. Since then,

It has been over two months since Senator Russ Feingold stepped down as the US Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region, and around six months since the US administration has been aware of his resignation. Since he stepped down, the Congolese government cracked down on civil rights organizers in

Les neuf juges de la cour constitutionnelle et les six hauts magistrats oeuvrant au parquet L’auteur, Marcel Wetsh’okonda, est avocat et chercheur indépendant basé à Kinshasa. Le 4 avril 2015, la Cour constitutionnelle a été installée. Régie par la Constitution du 18 février 2006 telle que modifiée et complétée à