Division among DR Congo opposition could wreck hopes for single candidate

The prospects of a single opposition candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) could be jeopardized by the infighting among opposition leaders in the country.

Divided among two groups, one calling itself radical opposition and another considering itself as moderate or republican, the division is growing deeper and deeper.

The republican side, which is led by the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) of Etienne Tshisekedi, is the one that has accepted to take part in the political dialogue called by President Joseph Kabila.

However, divisions have emerged even among the moderate or republican opposition over the modalities of choosing opposition representatives for the talks. Due to this, the opposition has not yet submitted its documents to the African Union facilitator, Edem Kodjo, ex-Togolese prime minister.

Unity is also becoming elusive among the opposition grouping popularly known as G7. The group is comprised of former confidants of president Kabila who wanted him to leave power once his term ends later this year.

The G7 later endorsed Moise Katumbi as the single opposition candidate in the presidential elections. But his candidature has not been embraced by all opposition parties.

"Adopting the single candidature of Katumbi for all opposition parties will be for us, trampling on the values that have guided our daily battles, and also sabotaging our people's hope for change. Our party will have its candidate in the forthcoming elections," a parliamentarian close to Vital Kamerhe, the president of Union for Congolese Nation (UNC), told Xinhua.

However, sources close to Kamerhe that spoke to Xinhua said some senior UNC members had already joined Katumbi's camp to support the latter's candidature in the forthcoming elections.

Last month, UDPS political bureau said Tshisekedi was its obvious candidate, and that there was no way the party would back any other candidate.

During protests called on May 26 by the opposition to protest against a ruling by the Constitutional Court that allows Kabila to remain in power beyond this year, several analysts noted the infighting among opposition members.

During the protest that brought thousands of people, each opposition leader had his crowd following him. Members of G7 withdrew from the protest just a day before the protest, without any official explanation to other opposition members.

"Our G7 friends still do not understand exactly what they want since leaving the presidential majority camp. By refusing to take part in the protest march, G7 members have lost credibility among the population," one of the opposition leaders who did not wish to be named told Xinhua in Kinshasa.

During the march, some opposition supporters expressed anger at the opposition leaders for trying to outdo each other instead of working together.

With DR Congo's single-round electoral system, most political observers do not give a chance to an opposition candidate winning the election against a ruling party that is determined to hold onto power.

In 2011, during the one-round elections, Kabila was declared the winner against a divided opposition.