DRC Opposition Parties Agree To Name nity Candidate By Mid-November

The Democratic Republic of Congo's opposition parties agreed on Thursday to name a single unity candidate by mid-November to run against President Joseph Kabila's choice in December elections.

Tensions are running high before the long-delayed December 23 vote to chose a successor to Kabila, who bowed to international pressure this year to step aside after nearly two decades in power.

DRC Opposition Parties Agree To Name nity Candidate By Mid-November

In a statement after two days of talks in Johannesburg, the country's fragmented opposition parties said they would "decide to appoint a common candidate" before their next meeting no later than November 15.
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Key opposition candidates Martin Fayulu, Vital Kamerhe and Freddy Matungulu participated in the meeting.

Felix Tshisekedi, from the main UDPS opposition party, sent a delegate as did the two heavyweight contenders excluded from the election race - former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba and regional baron Moise Katumbi.

Western powers are watching DRC election developments closely as the huge, mineral-rich African state attempts its first peaceful transition of power since independence from colonial Belgium in 1960.

Kabila last month promised at the United Nations the country would hold a credible ballot. But the months before he said he would step aside were marred by brutally repressed protests.