DR Congo drops contested part of election bill after deadly protests

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s lawmakers on Saturday agreed to scrap a contested part of an electoral bill that triggered days of deadly protests over claims it would have enabled President Joseph Kabila to extend his grip on power. National Assembly speaker Aubin Minaku told AFP that MPs will withdraw a controversial provision from the planned legislation that required a census to be held before the next election in 2016. The opposition, which had argued that such a census would take years to complete in the vast African nation and was a ploy to extend Kabila’s time in office, cried victory at the climbdown, which came after some 40 people were killed in violent confrontations between protesters and police.

This is a victory…. because there won’t be [a delay] of the presidential election.

Vital Kamerhe, head of the opposition Union for the Congolese Nation

Angry demonstrations erupted across the country after the National Assembly last week passed the original version of the electoral reform bill with the contested provision that many saw as an attempt by Kabila, in power for 14 years, to stay on past his mandate. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Saturday that 36 people had died in protests in the capital Kinshasa this week, 21 of whom were fatally shot by security forces, while four were killed in the eastern city of Goma, about 1,500 kilometres from the capital. The government, however, has put the death toll at 12. The protests quickly spiralled out of control with security forces firing live bullets and tear gas at groups of protesters who hurled rocks and set fire to tyres and buildings. Shops were also looted.

Africa