swissinfo - Switzerland's news and information platform
 
Congo adopts new constitution
 
swissinfo  
May 16, 2005 6:05 PM
 
Congo adopts new constitution
 
By David Lewis

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congo adopted a new constitution on Monday in line with a peace deal meant to draw a line under a five-year war, but it was still not clear when the first democratic polls in over four decades would be held.

The country's parliament is due to debate this week a request by the head of the electoral commission to delay the presidential vote, which according to the peace agreement should take place by the end of June.

Congo's President Joseph Kabila told a packed national assembly the new constitution was an irreversible step towards free and fair elections and warned his opponents against derailing the transition from war to peace.

But he did not say when the vote would take place.

"I want to reassure the population that with the adoption of the constitution, we are on course, the process is irreversible, and that elections will take place," Kabila said.

A postponement of the election is widely expected. Preparations have fallen months behind schedule because of government wrangling, legislative delays and logistical hitches in a country the size of Western Europe.

Under the 2003 peace deal, the electoral commission can ask parliament to approve up to two six-month extensions to the transition.

Opposition politicians who signed the peace deal but are not part of the transitional administration say Kabila's government -- which brings together the war's former foes -- has failed the Congolese people.

"The current government's failure to organise elections means that the polls may never be held," said Remy Masamba, secretary general of the main opposition UDPS party.

"Therefore, we believe there is a need to rethink the power structure," he said.

The UDPS can count on the support of large swathes of the population in the dilapidated capital Kinshasa, where frustrated Congolese struggle to make ends meet and Kabila and the former rebels are trying to cling on to power.

Talk of a poll delay earlier this year triggered violent riots in the capital.

The opposition has proposed the creation of a post of prime minister, charged with coordinating the various factions within the government, but Kabila has rejected any change in the institutions of the transition.

"I ask all signatories to respect the promises that they made when they signed (the peace deal) and whatever their differences, that they look for solutions within the text of the agreements," he said.

The constitution adopted on Monday provides for free primary education for all in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It establishes a presidential system, even though previous drafts were amended under international pressure to make sure the head of state's powers would be counterbalanced by parliament.

The constitution set the minimum age for presidential candidates at 30, allowing Kabila -- who is 33 -- to stand.

Congo's war was officially declared over in 2003 after nearly four million people were killed, mostly by disease and hunger. Instability is still rife in the east of the country and large swathes of land are controlled by armed militias.
 
 

URL of this story
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5789122