DRCongo prepares for presidential election

(19 Dec 2018) As the Democratic Republic of the Congo swings toward a December 23 election that could be its first peaceful, democratic transfer of power, a vocal opposition fears that the long-delayed vote will be rigged in favour of the ruling party. President Joseph Kabila's chosen candidate, Emanuel Ramazani Shadary, has not made waves in Congolese politics. That is the point, critics say, who believe Shadary will keep the presidential office warm until 2023, when Kabila can return. Kabila supported those suspicions this month when his camp summoned foreign correspondents to the capital, Kinshasa, for rare interviews in which he cheerfully hinted he would be back in five years' time. The constitution merely blocks three consecutive mandates, he said. "You should never rule out anything." And with that, critics see Shadary as president in name while Kabila holds power behind the scenes in the huge Central African nation, rich in trillions of dollars of mineral wealth and yet one of the least developed in the world. The 58-year-old Shadary has been described as a loyalist, not only to Kabila but to his father, former President Laurent Kabila. Months before he was announced in August as Kabila's preferred successor, Shadary told Radio France International he was not a presidential candidate and in fact was going to run for re-election as a national deputy from Maniema province in the east. He is a former interior minister, a role in which he directed the government's response to months of deadly protests across the country over the delayed election, originally set for late 2016. In some of protesters' most vivid confrontations with security forces, diplomats and others gathered at a Kinshasa cathedral were tear-gassed, and altar boys were arrested. Pope Francis appealed for peace. For his "success in the political crisis," his ruling party bio says, Shadary was named party secretary-general by Kabila. He also gained the nickname "the man of difficult situations." The European Union, however, sanctioned Shadary along with more than a dozen other Congolese officials, accusing him of obstructing Congo's electoral process and directing the crackdown on protesters. As the election approached, Congo's foreign minister this month asked the EU's foreign policy chief to lift the "illegal" sanctions or at least suspend them for a "probationary period" as a compromise. Days later, the EU prolonged the sanctions on Shadary and others, saying travel bans and asset freezes would be renewed for a year. Annoyed, Kabila's special adviser Kikaya Bin Karubi accused the EU of interfering in the election. Shadary has two main challengers after opposition parties briefly managed to rally behind a single candidate and then broke apart. Martin Fayulu leads the remainder of that coalition. The second main opposition candidate is Felix Tshisekedi, head of Congo's most prominent opposition party who joined forces with Vital Kamerhe, who finished third in the 2011 election and agreed to throw his party's support behind him. Two other opposition candidates with strong followings, Jean-Pierre Bemba and Moise Katumbi, were blocked by Congolese authorities from running. "This election is not free, it is not fair, " says A.L. Kitenge Lubanda, a Congolese political and economic analyst who is worried about violence breaking out in the upcoming elections. Campaigning in the final days before the vote turned violent last week when security forces opened fire on supporters of Fayulu in Kalemie, killing a young woman, said Human Rights Watch said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...