He said his political future might be clearer in 2023 – the year the country is set to hold its next presidential polls.Ĭritics say Kabila plans to have the seat kept warm for him by his hand-picked successor, hardline former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, one of the front-runners in the election.Īfter nearly 18 years in power, Kabila has also built up a web of supporters in the military and security apparatus, as well as a loyal political vehicle, the Common Front for Congo (FCC), which earlier this year declared him to be its “moral authority.” “In life, as in politics, I do not rule anything out,” he told foreign media ahead of the polls. Kabila has been vague about his future but, aged only 47, seems to have no plans to shuffle off into retirement. If Sunday’s thrice-postponed vote goes according to plan, Kabila will step down, taking up the senator-for-life position offered to former presidents. Kabila took power at the age of 29 after his president father, Laurent-Desire, was assassinated in 2001 by a bodyguard. Instead, they predict he will simply wield influence behind the scenes – a tactic likely to be emulated by two rivals, ex-rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba and Moise Katumbi, exiled former governor of Katanga province. If elections successfully take place on Sunday, it would mark the first peaceful transition of power in the DRC’s post-colonial history.īut many analysts strongly doubt that Kabila will quit politics. Elections in Democratic Republic of Congo will ostensibly bring the curtain down on the era of President Joseph Kabila, in charge of the vast resource-rich nation for nearly 18 turbulent years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |