Joseph kabilas government
DR Congo candidates meet on eve of vote amid unrest fears
Voters are due to cast their ballots on Sunday to decide who will replace incumbent President Joseph Kabila, stepping aside after nearly 18 years at the helm.
Key presidential election candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The embassies of Canada, Britain and Switzerland joined the US last week in expressing concern about the loss of ahead of the end-of-era poll.
Kabila’s critics and some analysts say concerns about his personal security and the fortune reportedly amassed by his family could account for a seeming reluctance to cede power.
The decision is likely to worsen relations between the EU and President Joseph Kabila’s government, which has lobbied against sanctions it calls an illegal violation of its sovereignty.
Bemba, a popular former vice president, was tipped as one of the leading candidates to replace outgoing President Joseph Kabila.
About 1,500 people have been identified as contacts of people infected with the disease, which causes fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.
More than 3,000 doses remain in stock in the capital Kinshasa, allowing authorities to quickly deploy it to the affected areas near the Ugandan border.
Another 20 people died from unidentified haemorrhagic fevers in the area, mostly in the second half of July.
Joseph Kabila is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term in the election but has refused publicly to rule out a run.
Term limits prevent President Joseph Kabila from running, but he has not ruled out standing again, creating suspense about what could be the country’s first democratic transition of power.
Tshibala’s comments follow signs in the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo that Kabila, who succeeded his assassinated father Laurent in 2001, is prepared to run for a third elected term.
Elections in Democratic Republic of Congo are scheduled for 23 December, two years after Kabila’s mandate officially expired.
Conflict between Hema and Lendu around the turn of the century killed tens of thousands of people.
Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala told Reuters in an interview during a visit to London that he did not expect that would lead to changes in the law.
Mining executives declined to answer questions from reporters after the meeting, with Randgold Chief Executive Mark Bristow saying they had “work to do”.
Angola’s government forced 530 Congolese to return to Congo between 25 February and 27, UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday.
Switzerland has long held a reputation as a favoured international destination for stashing ill-gotten wealth, owing to its banking privacy laws.
The park in central Congo’s Cuvette Centrale also sits on peatlands that scientists say could release massive quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmsophere if disturbed.