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DR Congo's opposition will meet in Geneva to name joint candidate
[Al Jazeera] The Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... 's (DRC) opposition leaders have agreed to meet in Geneva to choose a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. The elections, to take place on December 23, are critical for the future of the DRC, a state that has never experienced a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960. "All opposition heads will gather in Switzerland  ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...on Thursday to attend a meeting to designate a joint candidate," one of the challengers, Freddy Matungulu, told AFP news agency on Tuesday. "The public has high expectations. We, as a group, cannot make any claim on winning the presidential election unless we act together," he said. Leading opposition figure Felix Tshisekedi will take part in the meeting that is expected to take place over three days, his deputy chief of staff, Peter Kazadi, said. Twenty-one candidates are set to take part in the presidential election, with voting also taking place for parliamentary and provincial assemblies. The DRC is a country with mineral wealth worth trillions of dollars, torn apart by the dozens of gangs battling for it. Current President Joseph Kabila, 47, has been in power since 2001 after the liquidation of his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, the country's third president. He was elected in 2006 in the DRC's first democratic election since it gained independence. Kabila secured a second term in 2011, though that election was plagued by allegations of widespread voter fraud. Posted by: Fred 2018-11-07 |
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