* Reforms create single-round presidential election
* They also tighten president's grip on power, rivals say
* Opposition boycotts parliamentary sitting in protest
(Adds government and opposition reaction)
By Jonny Hogg
KINSHASA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's parliament approved controversial voting reforms on Saturday expected to boost incumbent President Joseph Kabila's chances of re-election in November.
A joint sitting of the central African state's lower and upper house backed eight changes to the constitution, including a move to reduce the vote to a single round from two -- meaning the next president can be elected without an absolute majority.
The measures were passed easily after opposition lawmakers boycotted the sitting in protest. Out of 504 that voted, 485 were in favour, eight were against and 11 abstained.
The new rules will mean that whoever gets the highest score in a sole round of voting will become president regardless of their score. Under the two-round system common across much of Africa, the top two must battle it out in a run-off if no one candidate gets an absolute majority in the first round.
Information Minister Lambert Mende said the reform would help ensure a peaceful vote, citing the disputed outcomes of recent African elections, including that in Ivory Coast where two rivals both claim to have won a second-round run-off.
"You know what is going on in Ivory Coast. You know what went on in Kenya and Guinea, and we've profited from all these experiences. And now that we have made it (the reform) I feel that our elections will go very well,' he told Reuters.
"We have not made these changes for Joseph Kabila, we have made them for the Congolese people," he added, dismissing suggestions they favoured the incumbent.
CONSENSUS OPPOSITION CANDIDATE?
While some of Kabila's opponents might have thrown their weight behind whoever of them made it into a run-off, it is unclear how many are ready to sacrifice their own ambitions to back a unified opposition candidate in a single-round vote.
Thomas Luhaka, spokesman for one of the leading opposition parties, the MLC, said he hoped opponents of Kabila would rally behind one candidate to maximise their chances, but predicted that a consensus could be difficult to find.
The constitutional reforms were "far away from what we are all searching for, and that is a state of law", he said.
The reforms also postpone plans to increase the number of provinces in the country to 26 from 11, an already overdue step to decentralise power away from the government in Kinshasa.
Other changes will see the prosecutor's office placed under the Justice Ministry -- a change some argue will undermine its independence -- and the president getting the power to call referendums, dissolve provincial assemblies and fire governors.
Kabila became president in 2001 following the assassination of his father, Laurent. He led a transitional government in 2003 following the end of a vicious civil war that left some five million people dead.
In 2006 he won the country's first ever democratic vote, beating Jean Pierre Bemba in a second round run-off which was marred by clashes between rival supporters that killed more than 300 people were killed in the capital.
Since then, the country has attracted growing numbers of international investors eager to exploit its vast mineral resources, including a ${esc.dollar}6 billion mining and infrastructure deal with China.
But despite relative stability and economic growth, Kabila has had little success tackling violence in the east of the country where rebels, militias and rogue army units operate. (Editing by Mark John and Mark Heinrich)
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