Joseph Kabila maintains suspense over election plans

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, kept his country guessing on Thursday over his political plans five months ahead of crucial elections.

In a state-of-the-nation speech that had sparked intense speculation of an announcement, Kabila vowed to stand by the December 23 date for the poll, and "unequivocally respect the constitution".

On Thursday, Ida Sawyer, Human Rights Watch's director for Central Africa, said: "Increased pressure is urgently needed to convince (Kabila) to change direction."
Sawyer left the DR Congo in 2016 after working in the country for a decade when Kinshasa revoked her visa, apparently over the HRW's frequent criticism of the rights situation.
Some experts fear the vast, troubled country, which has experienced two major wars in 22 years, could spiral into a bloodbath if the election is postponed or deemed to be fraudulent.
The window for registering presidential bids runs from July 25 to August 8.
A few hours before the speech, the grassroots pro-democracy movement Lucha wrote on its Twitter account that if Kabila declared his candidacy, "let us all rise up immediately to force him out, as we should have done long ago."
And if Kabila chooses not to seek another term, "let us continue to demand real elections, which are impossible with him and his CENI (the national election board) in control," it said.