President Laurent-Desire Kabila on Saturday inaugurated a new Constituent Assembly for the DRC, nominating an initial 240 members of parliament by decree. Justice Minister Mwenze Kongolo, reading the presidential decree on state television, said the assembly would eventually number 300 MPs, Reuters news agency reported. It was established “to widen the decision-making base” and “reinforce the capacity of the Congolese people to regain cohesion, territorial integrity and political independence through active participation in political life,” the decree stated. The political opposition in DRC has dismissed the assembly, viewing it as an attempt by Kabila to control the political environment and undermine the inter-Congolese dialogue provided for in the Lusaka peace agreement.
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