Congo’s opposition has said it will not participate in the dialogue unless political prisoners are released and global bodies, including the United Nations, participate.
Advertisement
Congo has never had a peaceful transition of power.
But now the DRC’s opposition has achieved the rare feat of rallying behind a single figure, the immensely popular Etienne Tshisekedi who returned home Wednesday from Belgium where he had been medevaced in 2014.
The opposition has repeatedly accused President Kabila of working to push off elections to stay in office after his second mandate expires in December, something the government denies citing logistical challenges with the vote.
Tshisekedi warned the president that not sticking to the date (September 19) for the launch of the electoral process would amount to “high treason” and that the president would have to accept responsibility for whatever happens afterwards.
Supporters of Congolese President Joseph Kabila carry his portrait photographs during a pro-government rally in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa, July 29, 2016.
The government has been urging the opposition to join the African Union-sponsored national dialogue meant to discuss the electoral process after the delay.
Shortly after the protests, presidential hopeful Moise Katumbi, who has been outside of the country since May, said Congolese authorities had refused to give clearance for his plane to land.
People waved flags of parties in Kabila’s ruling coalition, and politicians urged support for Kabila and the dialogue, expected to begin next month.
The president, in power since 2001, is required by constitutional term limits to step down at elections scheduled for November 27. An opposition rally is scheduled for Sunday.
The government has called for a “national dialogue” and former Togo premier Mr Edem Kodjo has been named by the African Union as the talks’ “facilitator”.
Advertisement
On Wednesday former Katanga governor Mr Katumbi, who is now overseas, welcomed Mr Tshisekedi’s return, saying in a tweet “Happy to see Pdt #Tshisekedi back in #DRC!”
