DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi To Seek Re-Election

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s ruling party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) has confirmed Félix Tshisekedi’s candidacy for the 2023 presidential election at an extraordinary congress in Kinshasa.

Tshisekedi, who has been in power since January 2019, had earlier confirmed that he would run for re-election and the party also voted Tshisekedi as their head for the next five years.

In December, Félix Tshisekedi will face several candidates, including Moïse Katumbi.

His main competitor who is the leader of the opposition party Martin Fayulu said he would not run if proper changes are not made on the current electoral commission.

For the national legislative elections alone, the UDPS is fielding 495 candidates for 500 available seats while for the provincial legislative elections, the party is proposing candidates in all constituencies.

Human Rights Watch recently accused the government of Tshisekedi of “repressing” and “intimidating” the opposition, four months ahead of the presidential elections.

The New York-based group cited the UN Joint Human Rights Office which has noted “political and electoral violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, abductions and threats targeting political opponents.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo is struggling to quell an armed rebellion by the M23 insurgency, which Kinshasa and several Western governments say is backed by neighboring Rwanda.