DRC: Kabila's coalition wins parliament majority

Outgoing president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC) coalition has won a parliamentary majority according to results published by the country’s elections commission.

This means Congo’s president-elect, Felix Tshisekedi, will have to strike a power-sharing deal with the FCC or face the possibility of a lame duck presidency. Tshisekedi’s Prime Minister will therefore come from the pro-Kabila coalition.

According to the results of the December 30 elections published on Friday by the independent national electoral commission, the pro-Kabila coalition, the Common Front for Congo won 288 of the 500 seats in the Congolese national assembly.

The outfit already exceeds the threshold of 250 seats needed for a majority out of a total of 500, according to an AFP count based on results released by the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI).

Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) and its Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) affiliate only managed 46. Martin Fayulu, who came second in the presidential race won 94 seats with his Lamuka coalition.

Kabila to loom large over Tshisekedi

According to several sources interviewed by AFP, Tshisekedi and Kabila have worked out an arrangement that gives the outgoing president considerable influence in the former’s administration. Kabila would also also have some sort of veto power on appointments in strategic positions such as defence, finance, and Governor of the Central Bank.

Moreover, “the dismissal or rotation of commanders of major army and police units cannot take place without Kabila’s advice”, AFP quoted an unnamed source.

Martin Fayulu has denounced Tshisekedi’s victory and apparent power-sharing deal with Kabila as an ‘electoral coup’. He claims he won the race with 61% of the vote. His claims are backed by the church.