DRC govt, opposition strike a deal on elections

Kinshasa — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reportedly struck a deal with part of the opposition on the sequence of a series of upcoming elections.

According to Voice of America, the two sides agreed that the presidential vote would be combined with legislative and provincial elections, with local polls to be held later.

However, no specific dates were set.

The development removed a major obstacle to breaking a dangerous political impasse.

“This opens the way to a calendar that will mention the exact date of the handover of power between the old president of the republic … and the newly elected president,” Vital Kamerhe, one of the leading negotiators for the opposition was quoted as saying.

This came after the opposition on Monday walked out of key talks aimed at averting a political crisis in the central African country. The opposition called the talks a “dead end”.

Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, who represented President Joseph Kabila’s political supporters in the talks, confirmed the agreement. — AFP