Installation of new senators blocked

KINSHASA: President Felix Tshisekedi’s Congo government blocked newly elected senators from taking office yesterday after a disputed vote that gave allies of his predecessor an overwhelming majority in the upper house of parliament.

The decision, announced after a meeting between Tshisekedi, cabinet ministers, the electoral commission chief and others, could trigger a standoff with former president Joseph Kabila’s camp two months after Tshisekedi succeeded him in Democratic Republic of Congo’s first transfer of power via the ballot box.

Basile Olongo, the interim interior minister, said participants had decided to suspend the installation of new senators pending investigations into corruption allegations.

Gubernatorial elections scheduled for next week, which are also voted on by provincial assembly members, have been suspended indefinitely.