Two main DR Congo parties urge leaders to form coalition govt

KINSHASA: The parties of DR Congo’s new President Felix Tshisekedi and his predecessor Joseph Kabila urged the two leaders to form a coalition government after weeks of failed talks.

Tshisekedi, 55, assumed office in January after a disputed election mired by fraud allegations, taking over from Kabila who had been in power for 18 years.

It was the first orderly transfer of power since Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960, but Tshisekedi has found himself effectively having to share power since the Dec 30 presidential poll.

He has not been able to push through his choice for prime minister as Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC) wields a huge majority in the National Assembly, which also held elections on Dec 30.

The stalemate has put a brake on Tshisekedi’s declared ambitions of reforming a country marked by corruption and rights abuses.

The FCC has more than twothirds of the 485 seats while the Heading for Change (Cach) coalition, which backs Tshisekedi, has some 50 members.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the two parties recognised the parliamentary make-up but said they had a “common will to govern together as part of a coalition government”.

This path would aim to preserve the “achievements of the historic peaceful transfer of power that took place on Jan 24, 2019 to strengthen the climate of peace and stability of the country and facilitate the rapid establishment of a government,” it added.

The statement came after Tshisekedi vented his frustration during a visit to Namibia last week at being unable to assemble a majority to back his choice for prime minister.

Tshisekedi said he would “not accept being a president who reigns but doesn’t govern”. — AFP