The Democratic Republic of Congo’s ruling Sacred Union Coalition will for the first time in its history hold a primary election to select the next head of the National Assembly.
The Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) led by Vital Kamerhe, a close ally of Tshisekedi and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, have described the decision by President Fèlix Tshisekedi and the Sacred Union to hold primary elections to appoint the next National Assembly President as a strategy to exclude their leader.
Kamerhe has been nominated alongside outgoing head of the house Christophé Mboso and outgoing senate speaker Modeste Bahati Lukwebo in the race to become the next head of the house.
The UNC have bemoaned this decision by Tshisekedi which they believe is an illegal plot to exclude their leader who played a crucial in the campaign trail and re-election of the former.
“After having gone through the constitution and the internal regulations of the national assembly, there is no law or constitutional provision which provides for the procedure for primary elections in our country. It’s just a ploy by Felix to find a supposedly legitimate way to sideline our PN in the race for the perch of the national assembly” a statement by UNC party spokesperson in South Kivu Province, Pascal Rucacura.
The UNC indicated that the strategy of primary elections favours Tshisekedi’s own UDPS party and their candidate as they hold the majority members.
“We know that his UDPS party has the majority of national deputies. They will receive a slogan and VK will find itself eliminated at the end of these primaries! Our minds should already prepare to re-establish opposition before being consumed by the hatred and hypocrisy of the UDPS.”
The UNC added that Kamerhe was the legitimate candidate ahead of Mboso and Lukwebo for his experience and political influence as well as the fact that the other candidates had already served in similar roles in the National Assembly.
“LUKWEBO was president of the Senate, Mbonso was president of the National Assembly, by right for this second term the national assembly should be chaired by Hon Vital KAMERHE without any form of trial especially after having deprived him of the prime ministership, VK is not only at the head of a political grouping which is today the second political force in the country, he is also the first ally of President Félix TSHISEKEDI, he is therefore the progenitor of this power, and this coupled with the experience who has already had it in the past in this VK post.
We understood that President Félix TSHISEKEDI does not need Hon Vital KAMERHE, he simply wants to ridicule him more, hence I call for the boycott of these primary elections by my national president Dr Vital KAMERHE” the UNC concluded.
