DRC: Kabila won’t run again as Shadary gets the nomination

DRC: Kabila won’t run again as Shadary gets the nomination

President Joseph Kabila will not run for a third term in Democratic Republic of Congo’s elections in December, as his PPRD party announced the selection of Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary on Wednesday. Shadary, a Kabila ally and secretary for the ruling party, was named as Congolese candidates met the registration deadline….

DRC: Commission to finalize plans for Etienne Tshisekedi burial

DRC: Commission to finalize plans for Etienne Tshisekedi burial

Congolese sources say there’s a new deal to complete the burial arrangements for longtime political opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in February 2017 in Brussels but 14 months later still has never had his remains repatriated to Democratic Republic of Congo. The Tshisekedi family, along with the Union for Democracy…

Congolese opposition balks at announcement on 2018 elections

Sunday’s announcement that long-deferred elections will take place in December 2018 in Democratic Republic of Congo is meeting with some hope, confusion and rejection. President Joseph Kabila’s ruling party welcomed the decision in a statement released Monday. The Parti du Peuple pour La Reconstruction et La Democratie (PPRD) acknowledged the…

DRC: Police trap Tshisekedi in Lubumbashi hotel

Congolese opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi says he was prevented Tuesday afternoon from leaving a hotel in Lubumbashi, where he has stayed since the weekend arrest of activists meeting at the headquarters of his Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party. “I am prevented from leaving the hotel to go and…

UN group to Kabila: Publish a DR Congo electoral calendar

President Joseph Kabila, whose term as president of Democratic Republic of Congo expired last December, shows no signs of moving toward the delayed presidential elections he has refused to hold. He has shrugged off any commitment to a December 31 power-sharing deal with the country’s Rassemblement political opposition coalition, one…

DRC: Tshisekedi’s funeral, burial again postponed

In Kinshasa, a dispute over funeral and burial arrangements for Etienne Tshisekedi, who died February 1 in Brussels, has again delayed the return of his remains to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tshisekedi’s body was to be repatriated on Friday, two months after the initial March 11 date was planned but then…

Kabila government dismisses CENCO opinion on PM selection process

A spokesman for Democratic Republic of Congo has dismissed the importance of a National Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO) bishops’ statement on Friday that said the appointment of Bruno Tshibala as prime minister was a breach of the December 31 political agreement CENCO mediated. Spokesman Lambert Mende told Congolese…

DRC: Kabila appoints Tshibala as new prime minister

The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced that opposition political leader Bruno Tshibala will serve as new prime minister. President Joseph Kabila appointed Tshibala on Friday, following his public promise two days earlier to choose a prime minister within 48 hours. Tshibala replaces Samy Badibanga, who resigned on Thursday. Tshibala…

DRC: International response to CENCO withdrawal, violence

Concerned about the apparent failure of the CENCO-mediated political agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States has urged both Congolese government officials and the Rassemblement opposition coalition to redouble their efforts to overcome their disagreements. “The United States is disappointed by lack of progress in implementation of…