\n Six DR Congo opposition leaders on Wednesday urged President Joseph Kabila's government to respect the rules for a long-delayed presidential election or risk \"chaos\" in a country mired by poverty and political rivalries.\n<\/p>\n
\n The appeal was made in Brussels by presidential candidates Felix Tshisekedi and Vital Kamerhe, along with fellow opposition leaders Jean-Pierre Bemba, Moses Katumbi, Adolphe Muzito and Antipas Mbusa.\n<\/p>\n
\n They warned the national election committee and Kabila's government to heed their demands or be \"held responsible for the chaos and consequences that will result from organising a parody of an election\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Their demands are contained in a joint statement ahead of the December 23 elections.\n<\/p>\n
\n The statement objected to striking voters from the electoral rolls who cannot be identified by finger prints, which they said amounted to 10 million people in a country with an estimated population of nearly 80 million.\n<\/p>\n
\n The opposition leaders pleaded for inclusive elections and for the UN force in DR Congo, MONUSCO, to be allowed to take part in the logistics for the vote.\n<\/p>\n
\n The opposition leaders also demanded the \"effective participation of candidates excluded or invalidated for political reasons\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Former warlord Bemba was one of six presidential hopefuls excluded from the vote by the election commission.\n<\/p>\n
\n He appealed the decision but the country's Constitutional Court upheld the ban, citing his conviction by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for bribing witnesses at his war crimes trial.\n<\/p>\n
\n Also struck from the race is Muzito, a former prime minister.\n<\/p>\n
\n The exiled Katumbi, the former governor of the Katanga province, has been prevented from returning to the country to run in the race, even as a coalition backs him.\n<\/p>\n
\n A full list of candidates will be announced on September 19.\n<\/p>\n
\n Bemba has accused Kabila of trying to hand-pick a successor by eliminating serious rivals.\n<\/p>\n
\n The former Belgian colony has not seen a peaceful transition of power since 1960.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kabila, in power since 2001, finally said he will not run again after keeping silent on the issue for months, fuelling tension and deadly unrest in the volatile central African nation.\n<\/p>\n
\n The president, whose second and final term ended two years ago, has named his former interior minister Ramazani Shadary as his chosen successor.\n<\/p>\n
\n Bemba declared his candidacy when he made a triumphant return home from Belgium after the ICC based in The Hague acquitted him of war crimes charges.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, Bemba and five co-accused were convicted on appeal of bribery, corruption and coaching 14 defence witnesses in his main trial. He is to be sentenced later this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Six DR Congo opposition leaders on Wednesday urged President Joseph Kabila's government to respect the rules for a long-delayed presidential election or risk \"chaos\" in a country mired by poverty and political rivalries. The appeal was made in Brussels by presidential candidates Felix Tshisekedi and Vital Kamerhe, along with fellow opposition leaders Jean-Pierre Bemba, Moses […]<\/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-38821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n