DR Congo main opposition to be led by founder’s son

The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) said Felix Tshisekedi, son of former premier Etienne Tshisekedi who died in Brussels in February last year, will “be its presidential candidate”, after a night-long meeting in the capital Kinshasa.

Tshisekedi, 54, was also chosen to lead the party with an overwhelming majority, securing 790 of the 803 votes.

“I am convinced that the UDPS will come to power this year to set things right in the country,” he said.

Elections for DRC’s head of state are due to take place on December 23 after two postponements that have stoked fears the sprawling, volatile state could spiral into war.

President Joseph Kabila has been in power since 2001 and should have stepped down at the end of 2016 after he reached his two-term constitutional limit.

He is staying on under a constitutional clause that empowers the president to remain in office so long as his or her successor has not been elected.

Felix Tshisekedi, a married father of five with a degree in marketing and communication obtained in Belgium, joined exiled ally Moise Katumbi, a wealthy businessman and former governor of Katanga province who also is chairman of top football club TP Mazembe, as a declared opposition presidential candidate.

– ‘Get rid of this dictatorship’ –

Katumbi on Saturday tweeted congratulations, referring to Tshisekedi as his “dear brother” and hailing his “brilliant election” which he said would boost opposition unity.

“Together, we shall be stronger to obtain real elections this year and get rid of this dictatorship once and for all,” Katumbi tweeted

Tshisekedi also used Twitter to respond.

“Many thanks my dear brother Moise. A great challenge awaits us, which I am aware of. And our unity, which makes many people’s head spin, will be the cornerstone of this victory which is certain. Together we stand, together we shall remain,” Tshisekedi wrote.

Katumbi risks jail if he returns home following a conviction for a property deal.

On March 12, he launched his own presidential campaign in Johannesburg and unveiled a new party, “Together for Change.”

Tshisekedi, who saw off prime minister and UDPS colleague Bruno Tshibala to land the party nomination, is perceived as having less charisma than either his father or Katumbi.

Late last year he called for a campaign of civil disobedience but that has been severely hampered with opposition rallies banned since September 2016.

Earlier this year he backed three anti-regime marches called by the influential Catholic church.

Tshisekedi is slated to face a candidate from the Alliance of the Presidential Majority given that Kabila officially cannot stand again — though he has yet to confirm he will indeed stand down.

– Truth and reconciliation? –

Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) must choose a candidate in his stead. Mooted possible candidates are national assembly president Aubin Minaku and Augustin Matata Ponyo, a former prime minister.

Tshisekedi recently told AFP he wants “a truth and reconciliation commission” to call Kabila to account while allowing him to stay in the country.

Escalating tension over Kabila’s future has fed protests leading to a crackdown that has claimed dozens of lives.

According to an opinion poll released Friday, 69 percent of the population do not trust the electoral commission to stage fair elections and 80 percent have a negative view of Kabila.

Sixty-six percent would vote for an opposition candidate, to just six for Kabila if he ran again.

The UDPS was set up in 1982 at the height of the dictatorship of former president Joseph-Desire Mobutu, in whose early governments Tshisekedi senior served as a minister before relations soured.

In opposition ever since, it has experienced numerous internal divisions.