Ministers resign amid pressure on DRC’s President Joseph Kabila not to vie for a third term

Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 25, 2014. REUTERS

KINSHASA: Two ministers resigned from Democratic Republic of Congo's government on Friday, raising pressure on President Joseph Kabila to name a new cabinet ahead of elections next year that are causing rising political tension.

Kabila has ruled the vast central African nation for 14 years but is barred from standing again. His spokesman says he will respect the constitution but critics say he is using violence and manipulating laws to prolong his rule or engineer a third term.