Drc constitutional reform: Lubumbashi’s APEC champions a people-centric constitution
DRC constitutional reform: Lubumbashi’s APEC champions a people-centric constitution
- Politics
The Action des Patriotes pour l’Émergence du Congo (APEC), led by interim president Dominique Unyon Pewu, made waves in Lubumbashi this weekend. At a packed Gécamines stadium, the party celebrated massive new memberships while staking out a bold position on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s constitutional reform debate.
The event unfolded under a charged atmosphere, with national flags waving and militants dressed in the party’s signature colors. The gathering underscored APEC’s deep roots in the copper capital and the widespread support for the vision of its moral leader, Louis Watum Kabamba.
A high-level delegation from Kinshasa, headed by interim president Dominique Unyon Pewu, led the proceedings. Beyond the celebratory aspect, party leaders used the platform to deliver a sharp analysis of the country’s institutional architecture. APEC argues that the DRC’s current constitutional framework must evolve to address pressing political, economic, and security challenges.
Speakers emphasized that no fundamental text should remain frozen in time. Constitutional reform, they argued, is not a threat to democracy but a natural evolution for any nation. Addressing the crowd, interim president Dominique Unyon Pewu firmly positioned APEC within the constitutional change movement, invoking national sovereignty:
The question of the hour in the Democratic Republic of Congo is constitutional change. Can we discuss changing the Constitution without APEC? We rely on Article 5 of the Constitution, which vests sovereignty in the Congolese people to decide on constitutional change. If the people agree, who can stop us? This is why APEC, under the leadership of His Excellency Louis Watum Kabamba, stands up and supports the constitutional change project.
The party’s ability to fill the stadium to capacity not only demonstrated its strength in the Grand Katanga region but also established APEC as a pivotal voice in the national intellectual and political debate. By championing constitutional modernization, the party seeks to build more effective institutions aligned with the aspirations of the Congolese people.
