\n DR Congo President Joseph Kabila's chosen candidate to run in upcoming presidential elections will be announced on Wednesday, his spokesman said, on the eve of a key campaign deadline.\n<\/p>\n
\n Members of a pro-Kabila alliance known as the Common Front for Congo (FCC) were called to the presidential residence on the outskirts of Kinshasa on Tuesday evening for an \"important meeting,\" a minister told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n The chosen candidate \"will be known early in the morning,\" Kabila's spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP after the talks.\n<\/p>\n
\n During Tuesday's meeting at Kabila's family farm in Kingakati, outside the capital Kinshasa, the president addressed those present without discussing his own political future, participants said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kabila, in power since 2001, should have stepped down at the end of 2016 when his constitutional two-term limit expired, but has so far refused to say if will seek to run again.\n<\/p>\n
\n Some of his opponents suspect that Kabila will still attempt to cling to power and seek a third term, despite the constitutional limit.\n<\/p>\n
\n The uncertainty has ratcheted up political tensions, leading to anti-Kabila protests that have been bloodily repressed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Names in the rumour mill include former prime minister Augustin Matata Ponyo; Kabila's chief of staff, Nehemie Mwilanya Wilondja; and the president of the National Assembly, Aubin Minaku.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ahead of Tuesday's pro-Kabila alliance meeting, a source close to Kabila, said: \"It's not a secret any more -- it's about naming a candidate for our presidential platform.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Candidates have until 1530 GMT Wednesday to file their bid for the December 23 poll -- a twice-delayed ballot seen as crucial for the future of the notoriously unstable country.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Volatile -\n<\/p>\n
\n A country of some 80 million people, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence in 1960.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kabila, 47, took over from his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, who was assassinated by a bodyguard.\n<\/p>\n
\n His tenure over the vast mineral-rich country has been marked by a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest. The watchdog Transparency International ranked it 156 out of 176 countries in its 2016 corruption index.\n<\/p>\n
\n Many provinces are in the grip of armed conflict and millions have had to flee their homes, many flocking to Uganda, Tanzania, Angola and Zambia.\n<\/p>\n
\n The United States is ready to impose further sanctions to dissuade Kabila from continuing his hold on power, the Financial Times reported Monday.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The US is trying to convince Kabila to go between now and August 8,\" an unnamed source told the newspaper. \"They're trying to squeeze his family and his finances\".\n<\/p>\n
\n - Candidates -\n<\/p>\n
\n Candidates who have already filed their bid include Jean-Pierre Bemba, 55, a former warlord and Kabila rival, who returned to Kinshasa last week after being acquitted of war crimes convictions by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.\n<\/p>\n
\n Fellow heavyweight opposition candidate, Felix Tshisekedi, leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), filed his application on Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n
\n Another candidate, who also declared his hand on Tuesday, is Tryphon Kin-Kiey Mulumba -- once a spokesman to former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and twice a minister under Kabila.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kin-Kiey -- a vocal Kabila supporter -- is running as an independent, local media said.\n<\/p>\n
\n He told AFP he was running \"in the name of my party,\" called the Action Party.\n<\/p>\n
\n The authorities last week barred Moise Katumbi, 53, a wealthy businessman and former governor of the province of Katanga, from returning home to file his bid.\n<\/p>\n
\n Katumbi has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 after falling out with Kabila.\n<\/p>\n
\n The pro-Kabila FCC is an election platform combining two groups, the Presidential Majority and the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD).\n<\/p>\n
\n After Wednesday's deadline, the definitive list of candidates will be announced on September 19.\n<\/p>\n
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DR Congo President Joseph Kabila's chosen candidate to run in upcoming presidential elections will be announced on Wednesday, his spokesman said, on the eve of a key campaign deadline. Members of a pro-Kabila alliance known as the Common Front for Congo (FCC) were called to the presidential residence on the outskirts of Kinshasa on Tuesday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-38344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n