Posters naming DRC's Kabila as candidate appear in capital

DR CONGO,

Posters published by supporters of the Democratic Republic of Congo's ruling party show Joseph Kabila as a presidential candidate in controversial December elections meant to end his rule.

"Our candidate Joseph Kabila," reads one of the posters alongside his picture, signed by the Friends of Mova Sakanyi, a group of activists which support the ruling People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD).

The posters seen in Kinshasa "are part of a dangerous political strategy put in place by the PPRD" in an attempt to prepare opinion for Kabila to seek a third term, Georges Kapiamba, the president of the Congolese Association for Access to Justice told AFP.

"We condemn this attitude and appeal to President Kabila's sense of responsibility to put an end to these manoeuvres plotted by his collaborators."

Opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, said the posters show the president is "scheming to stay in power".

Henri Mova Sakanyu, who the activist group is named after, is the former general secretary who recently took up the post of interior minister.

In power since 2001, Kabila has not clearly stated whether he will step aside despite appeals from the United States, France and Britain for him to clearly state that he will not seek re-election.

He should have stepped down at the end of 2016 after he reached his two-term constitutional limit but a constitutional clause has allowed him to remain in office until his successor is elected.

Escalating tension over Kabila's future has fuelled protests, leading to a security crackdown that has claimed dozens of lives.