By THE INDEPENDENT UG
KINSHASA, DRC | Xinhua | Prime Minister Sama Lukonde Kyenge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) submitted his resignation to President Felix Tshisekedi, as announced by the DRC presidential office on Tuesday, via X, formerly Twitter.
Sama Lukonde Kyenge assumed the position of prime minister on Feb. 15, 2021.
On Feb. 8, the Constitutional Court of the DRC declared the incompatibility of holding both governmental and legislative roles. Consequently, ministers, provincial governors, and members of political cabinets, who were also elected in legislative elections, were instructed to resign from their political positions unless they relinquished their electoral mandates.
According to a decree issued by the Constitutional Court, “Consequently, (the Constitutional Court) demands that the members of the government, the ministerial cabinets, and the general secretariat of the government who are newly elected national deputies, senators, provincial deputies, municipal councilors of sectors or chiefdom and who have opted for their electoral mandate, automatically and immediately lose their incompatible functions.”
On Dec. 20, 2023, 31 out of the 60 members of the government, including the prime minister, were elected as national deputies in the general elections. These elections saw nearly 44 million voters casting their ballots to elect a new president, deputies, as well as provincial and municipal councilors.
Felix Tshisekedi secured re-election with a majority of 73.47 percent of the vote and took the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2024.
On Feb. 7, Felix Tshisekedi appointed Augustin Kabuya Tshilumba, secretary-general of the ruling party Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), to form the next government. The UDPS emerged victorious with 69 seats in the 500-member National Assembly, surpassing 44 other parties in the general elections. ■
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