Western diplomats met Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila yesterday in a bid to persuade him to drop plans for amending the country's electoral law, officials said, after the measure drew violent protests last week.

Under Kabila's proposed law, a national census would have to be completed before the next presidential elections, expected in 2016. The government argues a census is long overdue and would allow better management of the country. But the opposition says the new bill is a ploy to keep Kabila in power beyond the end of his mandate in 2016, as a census would take years to complete.