The former DR Congo Vice-President, who lost the second round of the 2006 presidential elections to President Joseph Kabila, remains a political force to be reckoned with. His support is actively being sought by opposition candidates running for president in this year’s one-round presidential election.

Former Speaker of the National Assembly Vital Kamerhe says President Kabila was not truthful about the state of the country on Wednesday, when he laid out his plans for the next five years, if reelected, in a speech broadcasted live on national television.

The Independent National Electoral Commission released Thursday night the provisional list of candidates in the November 28 presidential election.

Opposition MPs walked out in protest on Tuesday before a vote on a controversial bill that, if approved, will amend the Constitution to limit presidential elections to just one round of voting and increase presidential powers.

There were no surprises at the Palais du Peuple on Saturday morning as elections results revealed that Evariste Boshab, from President Joseph Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD), had come ahead as the new speaker of the lower house of Parliament in polls held on Friday to replace its former officers.