DR Congo’s parliament ousts prime minister amid rising political turmoil
2 min read Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba, the prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no confidence on Wednesday. It’s the newest chapter in a rising rift between the nation’s present president, Felix Tshisekedi, and allies of his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.
The National Assembly of DR Congo permitted a movement of censure towards Ilunkamba with a thumping 367-7 majority, albeit with greater than 100 abstentions. The prime minister now has 24 hours to step down from the position.
While Ilunkamba denounced the censure movement, Francois Nzekuye, an MP, instructed information company AFP that he wouldn’t resign.
The prime minister known as the movement of censure “a political maneuver with no basis in fact, flouting the requirements of the state of law.”
Ilunkamba and different pro-Kabila supporters boycotted the vote within the Kinshasa parliament, arguing that an interim speaker of parliament didn’t have constitutional authority to move a no-confidence movement.
Political conflict
Tshisekedi has been president of the mineral-rich DR Congo since he gained the 2018 election. He succeeded Kabila within the nation’s first peaceable transition of energy since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960.
Despite profitable the presidential vote, he’s reliant on blocs aligned with Kabila in parliament.
Tshisekedi’s supporters say the coalition authorities between his parliamentary alliance, Heading for Change (CACH), and the Common Front for Congo (FCC), which consists of events and politicians loyal to ex-President Joseph Kabila, had straitjacketed his management. He appointed Ilunga as prime minister some six months after his election following protracted talks on a Cabinet with the FCC.
Tshisekedi introduced in December 2020 that he was placing an finish to the coalition and forming a brand new political alliance, the “Sacred Union.”
Since then, Tshisekedi has been cracking down on pro-Kabila supporters in an try to strengthen his energy. On Wednesday, Pastor Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, an ally of Kabila, was sentenced to a few years in jail for “endangering state security, inciting tribal hatred and spreading false rumors.”
