“Before voting for a new president in 2016, the Democratic Republic of Congo must go through a series of elections on the local and provincial levels. Mayors, village chiefs and councils must be named, and deputies and governors need to be elected in the provinces. The longer this process takes, the more likely the presidential race will be postponed.
Under Congo’s Constitution, the president is limited to two terms. However, delays in the packed electoral calendar, which is already months behind schedule, are stoking fears that a postponed presidential election could allow Mr. Kabila to stay in power for months or even years longer.”
Source: Congolese See No End to President’s Final Term – The New York Times