President Tshisekedi. The power shift in the DR Congo parliament marks a step forward in President Felix Tshisekedi’s bid to wrest the levers of power from supporters of his predecessor. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Chris Amd001
Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Thursday he accepted parliament’s vote of no confidence in his government, opening the way for President Felix Tshisekedi to appoint his loyalists to key ministries.
The departure of Ilunga, an ally of former President Joseph Kabila, cements Tshisekedi’s break from a power-sharing pact that had been forced on him when he came to power two years ago because Kabila’s allies still controlled parliament.
The awkward alliance, which forced Tshisekedi to bargain with his predecessor over any policy shift, added to challenges facing his government as it sought to quell violence in Congo’s eastern mining heartland, reform the judiciary and win financial help from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
The presidency said on Twitter that 391 lawmakers out of 500 in Congo’s lower house now backed Tshisekedi’s new political alliance known as the Sacred Union.
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