Parliament accepts new draft constitution

The Republic of Congo’s transitional parliament on Sunday adopted by 46 votes to one abstention a draft constitution for the country that is now due to go to a referendum before the end of the year, AFP reported. If approved, the new constitution would confer considerable powers on the head of state, who would be elected by direct universal suffrage for one renewable seven-year term. “We have opted for a strong presidential regime in light of the recent history of our country, riddled with strife,” Communications Minister Francois Ibovi was quoted by AFP as having said. “The president of the republic will be the keystone of our future institutions.” The head of state would have full executive powers, including appointment and dismissal of government ministers. The draft also provides for a bicameral parliament with a national assembly and a senate, in a multi-party system. According to AFP, the ROC parliament is dominated by parties close to President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who ousted Pascal Lissouba in 1997 in one of a series of ethnic and political conflicts which wracked the nation throughout the 1990s. Since the former military ruler seized back power, the country has been subject to a basic law pending the introduction of a revised constitution. A peace accord between Sassou-Nguesso and supporters of the exiled Lissouba was reached late in 1999.