Ministers Vital Kamerhe, Julien Paluku, Jean-Lucien Bussa, and Tony Kanku, leaders of the main political groupings within the majority, launched an alliance comprising over 100 national deputies out of the 500 that the Assembly is expected to have. This initiative, internal to the majority, aims to be open to any membership. Officially, the UDPS, the ruling party, does not oppose the formation of this new bloc. However, some close to Félix Tshisekedi are questioning the opportunity to launch this initiative.
Within the president’s inner circle, some characterize the initiative, led notably by Vital Kamerhe, as “agitation.” A member of Félix Tshisekedi’s cabinet said, “It’s a race for positioning. It’s a race for who wants to be prime minister or president of the institutions. It’s a bidding war.”
“Strengthening Cohesion”
These accusations are categorically rejected by Vital Kamerhe. He asserts that the goal is to “strengthen cohesion and restore discipline” within the president’s political family. One of his close associates even goes so far as to argue that the Sacred Union, the presidential platform conceived before the electoral deadlines, was a “catch-all.”
This same associate of Kamerhe cites, as an example, the fact that Félix Tshisekedi did not entrust him with the direction of his electoral campaign. Another reason given is the observation of a scattering of votes in the legislative elections, with several political groupings having barely one or two deputies each.
A Homogeneous Bloc
According to him, the task of identifying the majority could take two or three months if it were to satisfy all parties. Once created, the new alliance positions itself as a homogeneous bloc alongside the UDPS and its affiliated parties and groupings. Assured of having the majority in Parliament, Félix Tshisekedi is not constrained to rely solely on the numbers, confides one of his advisers, especially as he has a fairly wide margin of maneuver. He will also take into account the internal political balance.
But the stakes are not limited to the National Assembly. This new alliance also seems well-positioned to control at least eight provinces out of the 26 in the DRC, with the possibility of electing governors and presidents of provincial assemblies.