Opposition leader returns to run

KINSHASA, Congo — Congo’s former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba returned to the country on Wednesday to register as a presidential candidate in December’s longdelayed election, more than a decade after his arrest in Belgium led to a trial at the International Criminal Court over war crimes.

Bemba arrived in a private jet in the capital, Kinshasa, to throngs of supporters that included members of his opposition Movement for the Liberation of Congo party. The police presence was high.

His arrival shakes up the political landscape in one of Africa’s most turbulent nations as the opposition worries that President Joseph Kabila, whose mandate ended in late 2016, will find a way to hold on to power. Kabila has been in power since 2001, and his government has blamed delays on the difficulties of organizing a vote in the vast country.

While the international community’s patience frays — the United States last week warned Kabila that “the time for posturing is over” — Congo’s president has remained quiet on his role in the upcoming election and declared that his country is rejecting foreign meddling and funding the vote itself.

Bemba, like other candidates, must submit his candidacy by Aug. 8 to run in the elections now set for Dec. 23, more than two years late. Bemba was granted a diplomatic passport to return to Congo because he is still a senator.

In an interview, Bemba said he wants Congo’s opposition to rally around a single challenger to Kabila and will “give all my support” if that challenger isn’t him.