The government and opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) on Saturday clinched a hard-won deal over Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s fate, ending a political crisis that sparked months of deadly unrest.
Under the terms of the deal, Kabila is to stay until the “end of 2017,” but a transition council is to be established, headed by opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.
In addition, a prime minister would be named from the opposition ranks.
The talks were launched by the Roman Catholic Church to ward off violence as Kabila’s second and final mandate ended on Dec. 20 with no sign of him stepping down and no election in sight.
The final deal was signed after 13 hours of negotiation on Saturday and only after several last-minute hitches nearly derailed an accord.
According to a working document for the deal previously seen by reporters, Kabila guaranteed that he would not seek a third mandate.
In return, the opposition accepted that the president remain in office until handing over to an elected successor.
The Catholic Church, which plays a key role in the vast central African country of about 70 million people, launched the negotiations on Dec. 8 and had initially hoped to see a deal before Christmas.
Voters in the DR Congo were originally to have chosen a new president last year, but authorities said the electoral registers must be revised, a huge enterprise in a country almost the size of Europe.
Kabila, 45, has been in power since the 2001 assassination of his father, Laurent, at the height of the Second Congo War.
Sixteen representatives met on Saturday, comprised of eight from the opposition coalition, called Rassemblement (Gathering), and eight from the government and groups that had signed a deal with the regime in October last year.
One dispute was over wording for the appointment of the prime minister — the government side want the individual to be “drawn from the opposition,” whereas Gathering want the prime minister to be “appointed by the opposition.”
The opposition side also want the deal to allow a wealthy businessman and potential presidential candidate, Moise Katumbi, to be allowed to return to the country.
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