Critics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's president, Joseph Kabila, fear his attempts to cling
to power could lead to widespread violence after a key opposition leader was charged with plotting a coup d'état this week.
Political tensions in the country escalated when Moïse Katumbi, a provincial powerbroker and former close ally of the president, was charged hours after announcing he would run for president in elections scheduled for later in the year.
Critics accuse Kabila, in power since 2001, of manoeuvring to delay the vote and remain in office beyond his constitutionally permitted two terms.
Kabila had "deliberately sabotaged the electoral process" and instituted a "policy of chaos and fear", said Olivier Kamitatu Etsu, a member of Congo's national assembly and a former minister of planning.
The Obama administration has threatened to impose sanctions on anyone who undermines security and democracy in the DRC and the latest charges are likely to concern Washington.
The country is Africa's largest copper producer and western mining companies have invested heavily there since a 2003 peace agreement ended years of conflict that drew in more than six neighbouring countries and may have killed millions.
A delegation of Kabila's political opponents traveled to Washington earlier this week to urge the US to act quickly against him and his top aides.
Sanctions could include the freezing of assets and a travel ban. But the warning has so far failed to sway Kabila and members of his government. The DRC's ambassador to the US, François Balumuene, denied the charge and said Kabila was committed to holding fair and peaceful elections.
Balumuene said it was impossible for the president to change the constitution to stay in power. He insisted that logistical and financial problems had to be resolved before any polls.
The threat of sanctions has provoked an angry response from Kabila loyalists. Henri Mova Sakani, the secretary general of the president's party, accused western powers of trying to divide the DRC to tryto restore colonialism.
"You can come up with anything you like - sanctions or whatever. You will not scare us, "he told crowds gathered on Tuesday to mark the 1997 overthrow of the autocrat Mobutu Sese Seko by Kabila's father.
Some analysts fear a violent showdown, pitting Kabila against Katumbi, a former governor of Katanga province in the south-east and the owner of Africa's top football team, TP Mazembe.
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