ASSESSMENTS

Congo's New President May Have the Title, But His Predecessor Has the Power

Mar 8, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

People hold up portraits of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s former president, Joseph Kabila, as they arrive to attend newly elected President Felix Tshisekedi's inauguration on Jan. 24, 2018.

In the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, portraits of the former president are on display at the inauguration of the country’s new president in January 2018.

(JOHN WESSELS/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Mounting evidence indicates that the Democratic Republic of the Congo's new president, Felix Tshisekedi, won the election due to his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.
  • Kabila's ruling coalition also won control of the country's national and provincial legislatures in the last election, furthering the former leader's plan to secure influence over the country's government and mining sector.
  • Tshisekedi will, therefore, be forced to work within the confines of a political system that remains largely loyal to the former regime. 
  • Given this reality, the new president will form a sort of joint regime with his predecessor, which will entail upholding Kabila's hardball tactics against international mining companies to increase government revenue. 
 

The surprise victory by presidential candidate Felix Tshisekedi in January 2019 was initially hailed as a huge step forward for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But despite hopes for a first democratic transfer of power since the country's independence, in the following weeks evidence has continued to emerge strongly suggesting the election was thrown to Tshisekedi by former Congolese President Joseph Kabila after term limits forced him to end his 18 years in office. On the surface, handing over the presidency to a political opponent may seem counterintuitive. But it actually is part of Kabila's plan to continue his control over the Democratic Republic of the Congo's government and mining sector by proxy -- limiting Tshisekedi's room to govern and influence policy in the process....

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