Congo opposition leaders in Geneva for unity talks

Opposition leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo began arriving in Geneva yesterday for talks on uniting behind a single candidate for next month’s presidential election.

Five leaders had arrived for the meeting and two heavyweights — Moise Katumbi and Jean-Pierre Bemba — “will be coming,” said Adolphe Muzito, a former prime minister who has joined the opposition.

The talks — expected to last through the weekend — aim at bridging rifts that could hand victory to President Joseph Kabila’s chosen successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, on December 23.

“The talks have already begun on the sidelines, which is where the real meeting takes place,” said Muzito.

Four opposition leaders have been authorised by the DRC’s election overseers to contest the ballot.

They are Felix Tshisekedi, head of the long-standing UDPS opposition party; Vital Kamerhe, a former speaker of the National Assembly; legislator Martin Fayulu; and former finance minister Freddy Matungulu.

Katumbi and Bemba, like Muzito, have been barred from taking part but wield enormous influence in their respective regions.

The December 23 elections are critical for the future of the DRC, a sprawling, mineral-rich state that has never experienced a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

Twenty-one candidates are standing in the presidential vote, which will be combined with a parliamentary election and elections to the provincial assemblies.

Kabila, 47, has been in power since 2001 at the helm of a regime with a reputation for corruption, incompetence and abuse of rights. His second and final elected term in office ended nearly two years ago, but he stayed in office thanks to a caretaker clause in the constitution.

Months of speculation over his intentions, marked by protests that were repressed at a cost of dozens of lives, ended in August when he threw his weight behind Ramazani Shadary, a hardline former interior minister and loyalist.

On October 25, opposition parties agreed in Johannesburg to name a joint candidate by November 15.

One of the challenges facing them is to forge a joint stance on the use of electronic voting machines — a technology that critics say invites electoral fraud.

“The talks have already begun on the sidelines, which is where the real meeting takes place”