Call for coalition to force Congo president’s exit

Bloomberg

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s main opposition leader said parties should unite to force President Joseph Kabila to leave as plans to set a new date for elections are delayed.
“Joseph Kabila is the sole obstacle on the way to the organization of elections in our country,” Felix Tshisekedi, leader of the Rassemblement coalition, told reporters in the capital, Kinshasa.
“I launch an appeal to all anti-Kabila parties to mobilize themselves together to obtain his departure.”
Kabila was supposed to step down at the end of his second term as president in December, but the vote for his replacement has been delayed, sparking protests. Under a political agreement struck December 31, opposition parties accepted that he could remain in office if the vote was held this year. Efforts to implement the accord have stalled and opposition parties are accusing Kabila of purposely delaying the vote to hold on to power.
Tshisekedi was appointed as the leader of the country’s largest opposition coalition in March, succeeding his father, veteran politician Etienne, who died the previous month. Tshisekedi returned to Kinshasa on Sunday after spending several weeks in Europe.