• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home Africa

DR Congo’s Kabila urges unity on eve of new president’s inauguration

24 January 2019, 7:29 AM  |
AFP AFP |  @SABCNews
President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after close to two decades in power.

President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after close to two decades in power.

Image: Reuters

President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after close to two decades in power.

Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi will be sworn in on Thursday as DR Congo’s next president, sources in Kinshasa said, as outgoing President Joseph Kabila called for national unity.

In his first speech since the December 30 presidential election, Kabila said he was “calling for a grand coalition of all the progressive forces”.

“A coalition against the predatory forces that have come together and will always try to join forces to monopolise our natural resources,” Kabila said on state channel RTNC.

The inauguration will be held at the Palace of the Nation, the seat of the presidency, starting at noon (1100 GMT), aides to Tshisekedi and Kabila said on Wednesday, ending uncertainty about when the ceremony would take place.

It will be the first peaceful transition of power in the history of the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo, which gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

Tshisekedi, 55, will be taking the helm from Kabila who at only 47 has ruled the vast country for 18 years, succeeding his father Laurent-Desire, who was assassinated in 2001.

Tshisekedi was declared winner of the election with 38.5 percent of the vote, while his opposition rival Martin Fayulu was credited with coming a close second with 34.8 percent.

But Fayulu says he was the true winner, with 61 percent of the ballot, against 18 percent each for Tshisekedi and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, Kabila’s preferred candidate.

Fayulu has angrily characterised the official result as an “electoral coup” cooked up by Kabila and Tshisekedi.

But he lost a challenge at the Constitutional Court, and foreign support for his position has waned, mainly to avoid the bloody confrontations that have marred this vast country’s history.

Kabila congratulated Tshisekedi in his speech on Wednesday, saying he will hand over power to him “without regret or remorse”.

“He must be able to count on me whenever he wants and that the interest of the country requires.”

– US hails peaceful transition –

The United States on Wednesday recognised Tshisekedi as the next president and hailed Kabila for enabling a historic peaceful transfer of power.

It followed signals from the African Union and European Union that they too are ready to work with Tshisekedi, showing no appetite for prolonging the uncertainties in this violence-prone nation.

“We are committed to working with the new DRC government. We encourage the government to include a broad representation of Congo’s political stakeholders and to address reports of electoral irregularities,” US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.

While France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday that “doubts” remain about whether Tshisekedi won the election, he stressed that the priority was to preserve peace and calm in the country.

DR Congo, which covers an area akin to that of western Europe, lived through two regional wars in 1996-97 and 1998-2003, and its last two presidential elections in 2006 and 2011 were marred by deadly clashes.

Tshisekedi is the son of the late veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in February 2017, aged 84.

One of his first tasks in office will be to choose a prime minister, likely one of the pro-Kabila lawmakers who dominate the 500-seat National Assembly.

Parliamentary elections were also held on December 30 alongside presidential and provincial polls.

The Joint Front for Congo (FCC), which supports Kabila, controls 337 seats in the assembly while Fayulu’s Lamuka coalition holds 102.

The Heading for Change (Cach) coalition, which backs Tshisekedi, holds just 46, according to a provisional UN tally.

The presidential inauguration had initially been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed in order to give more time for preparations, notably invitations to foreign VIPs.

Share article
Tags: New presidentNational UnityFelix TshisekediInaugurationDR CongoJoseph kabila
Previous Post

Trump won’t deliver State of Union until shutdown ends: Speaker

Next Post

DA to hold memorial service for Life Esidimeni victims

Related Posts

Kenya economic growth to edge up this year, World Bank says

7 June 2023, 6:09 AM
A firefighter walks near cars damaged during a massive Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 30, 2023.

African Peace Initiative for Ukraine/Russia war ready to depart: Ramaphosa

6 June 2023, 8:12 PM
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stands among troops,in an unknown location, in this picture released on May 30, 2023.

Clashes between Sudan’s warring factions intensify, no end in sight

6 June 2023, 1:34 PM
A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023.

Shelling, looting in Sudan’s capital as military factions battle for 8th week

6 June 2023, 8:03 AM
The UN Habitat Assembly.

President Ruto officially opens second UN Habitat Assembly in Kenya

5 June 2023, 2:27 PM
[File Image] Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi.

Kubayi to represent SA at UN Habitat Assembly on sustainable urbanisation in Kenya

5 June 2023, 10:09 AM
Next Post
DA Leader Mmusi Maimane.

DA to hold memorial service for Life Esidimeni victims

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Eastern Cape ActionSA raises eyebrows over qualifications of senior officials
  • Unisa suspends registrar for various breaches of policy
  • Slain teen Palesa Malatji’s family calls for death sentence to be reinstated
  • Orlando Pirates player Thembinkosi Lorch found guilty of assault
  • Limpopo district embroiled in fraudulent travel claims
  • Dr Nandipha’s looks during court appearances under the spotlight
  • Deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits draws near
  • Reserve Bank expected to increase repo rate on Thursday
  • Zimbabwe receives 18 helicopters from Russian Federation
  • Eastern Cape ActionSA raises eyebrows over qualifications of senior officials
  • Orlando Pirates player Thembinkosi Lorch found guilty of assault
  • Construction of softball stadium halted in Limpopo
  • Limpopo ANC PEC orders municipalities to recover lost public funds in VBS scandal
  • Zwane expected to remain Chiefs coach despite dismal season
  • Buses in Tshwane grind to a halt due to strike by SAMWU workers

LATEST

Flowers with candles in the background
  • South Africa

Final send-off for veteran actor Patrick Ndlovu


File Image: SAMWU members hold posters during a strike.
  • South Africa

Bus operations suspended due to Samwu strike in Tshwane


The inaugural LIV Golf Invitational - Centurion Club, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Britain - June 10, 2022 England's Sam Horsfield of the Majesticks team in action during the second round REUTERS
  • Sport
  • Golf

PGA Tour reaches surprise merger deal with Saudis, LIV Golf


FILE PHOTO: Representations of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on a screen showing binary codes are seen through a magnifying glass in this illustration picture taken September 27, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
  • Business

Asia stocks hold up, China gives up some gains after weak trade data


FILE PHOTO: Houses are seen in the Debussy neighbourhood
  • World

Fatal quake hits Haiti as it reels from floods


[File image] Police tape marks off a crime scene.
  • South Africa

Female student stabbed to death at NMU residence


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous Trump won’t deliver State of Union until shutdown ends: Speaker
Next DA Leader Mmusi Maimane. DA to hold memorial service for Life Esidimeni victims