Thousands rally in support of Congo president Kabila

Tens of thousands of people gathered at a stadium in the Congolese capital Kinshasa on Friday (July 29) demanding President Joseph Kabila be allowed to stay in power beyond the end of his second mandate despite constitutional rules.

Kabila has been in power since 2001 and is now required by constitutional laws on term limits to step down at the end of the year.

His opponents accuse him of trying to delay a November 27 election in order to cling on to power.

The government has said logistical constraints could delay the election.

Kabila has called for a national dialogue to clear the way for eventual elections.

Kabila’s supporters, waving flags of various parties in the ruling coalition and holding banners calling for him to remain in power, packed the 50,000-seat Tata Raphael Stadium in Kinshasa. Many wore T-shirts bearing Kabila’s face.

The rally comes two days after the triumphal return of the main opposition party’s leader Etienne Tshisekedi and ahead of Sunday’s opposition demonstration demanding Kabila to quit.

“The people want Kabila to remain in power for as long as possible, because he is working in the interest of the Congolese people and of the international community. In short he is working in the interest of humanity,” said a pro-Kabila senator, who compared Kabila to popular U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who held four mandates before a constitutional limit was set in the country.

During the rally majority politicians addressed the crowd, urging support for Kabila. A dialogue among parties is expected to begin next month despite resistance from many in the opposition.

Violent protests in January 2015 against revising the country’s electoral law that could have the election delayed by years, led to more than 40 deaths.

Friday’s organised rally with many supporters being bussed in was huge, but thousands more had joined the spontaneous march to the airport on Wednesday to greet Tshisekedi.