DRC Vice President Denies Constitutional Manipulation Claims

The first Vice President has denied allegations regarding the manipulation of organic laws in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Critics claim the government seeks to modify laws via absolute majority to bypass constitutional protections. Specifically, the dispute concerns Article 220, which formally prohibits revisions to the limitation on presidential terms. The Vice President maintains that the Parliament can modify organic laws without altering the Constitution itself. The Democratic Republic of the Congo Vice President stated that the population opposes any attempt to seize power through force or in violation of the constitution. He characterized efforts to change the constitution to remain in power as a 'constitutional robbery.' The Vice President asserted that the nation will resist these attempts just as it did ten years ago. The first vice-president of the Assembly stated that the current situation regarding power retention is completely different from a decade ago when Joseph Kabila was forced to renounce a third term due to opposition and Church resistance. He noted that the previous regime had discredited itself through maneuvers known as 'glissement'.