Do President Kabila's reforms threaten the future of democracy in the DRC?

On New Year’s Day in the Democratic Republic of Congo 33 women were subjected to mass rape in the eastern province of South Kivu. On the same day, Joseph Kabila, the current President of DRC, proclaimed that the situation in the east of the country was “calm and improving.” The situation in the east, however, is far from calm, and the dramatic changes to the DRC’s constitution that Kabila enacted just days later may undermine the stability of the DRC as a whole.

The constitutional reforms passed in parliament on Saturday deliver many new powers to the ruling government, aiming to strengthen Joseph Kabila’s chances of re-election later this year.  Kabila took office in 2001, but it was not until 2006 that he was actually elected, under an electoral system that required the winning presidential candidate to secure