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DR Congo rivals forge government pact 7 months after polls
KINSHASA, July 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The two rival political camps in DR
Congo Friday forged a pact on forming a government, six months after
President Felix Tshisekedi took power from veteran ruler Joseph Kabila,
officials said.
Tshisekedi was elected in December to replace Kabila who presided over
sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest country for nearly two decades.
He took power at the end of January but has struggled to form a government
as Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC) coalition won comfortable majorities
in both houses of parliament as well as provincial assemblies.
Kabila’s supporters also dominated elections for governorships across the
country.
The current, outgoing government comprises ministers from the Kabila era.
Tshisekedi’s CACH alliance in the legislature has been holding tortuous
talks with the FCC to break the stalemate.
“An agreement has just been reached on Friday between the FCC and CACH,”
Nehemie Mwilanya, the coordinator of the pro-Kabila alliance, announced on
Twitter.
He said Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunkamba, who was proposed by Kabila and
backed by Tshisekedi, could be formally nominated as early as next week.
“This will be a government of 65 members: 42 coming from the FCC and 23
from CACH,” said Jean-Baudouin Mayo, a negotiator for CACH.
Mwilanya said both sides had made “reciprocal concessions” but neither
provided details on who would get key ministries such as interior, defence,
economy, finance and mining.
“Now we are going to join forces. That is to say we will be of the same
political family,” Tshisekedi said a month ago.
The opposition views Tshisekedi as a puppet of Kabila.
Tshisekedi emerged victorious in elections that marked the Democratic
Republic of Congo’s first peaceful transition of power since the vast
mineral-rich country gained independence from Belgium in 1960.
But the vote was marred by allegations of rigging, and Tshisekedi is
struggling to push ahead with pledges of reform.
The unstable country’s politics remain overshadowed by Kabila, who amassed
extensive clout after 18 years in power.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1945HRS