DRC: Félix Tshisekedi announces being a candidate for a second term

Mid-term and two and a half years before the next presidential election in the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi has announced his intention to seek a new term in 2023.

He thwarted all predictions. Many were the political observers not to give dearly for the skin of Felix Tshisekedi. Considered to be the straw man of Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has recently extricated himself from the tutelage of his predecessor. To the point of dreaming of a second term. And this open secret is no longer one: “Fatshi” will present himself well in front of the voters in 2023. The Head of State has given himself up to Jeune Afrique, and he answers the question of his candidacy for a new one. mandate.

"I have the right to serve two terms, why would I stop on the way? I have a vision for this country, I want to realize it, explains the Congolese president. If the people are willing to grant me this second mandate, I will continue my mission ”. Félix Tshisekedi ensures that, if he is elected again, it will be his second and last term. “After that, I'll pass my hand,” he explains.

Hope, but "we must transform the test"

What motivated the Congolese president to already come out of the woods? Two and a half years from the end of his mandate, “Fatshi” could have waited a few more months before taking a position. But mid-term, the president knows that his record will be as hopeful as it will be mixed. He is aware of this and asks half-heartedly for time to launch effective reforms. “I aroused hope, despite the circumstances and the sticks in the wheels. Now we have to transform the test, ”he told the pan-African magazine.

This public intervention is already an opportunity for Félix Tshisekedi to recall that he inherited a country where "corruption, lies, greed or theft" were ubiquitous practices. “I didn't think, quite frankly, that the evil was so deep. It will take time, a lot of time, to change that, ”he promises. Long-term work to "carry out the infrastructure work that will allow us to connect all corners of the Congo, capitalize on our minerals, speak with investors in this sector to make them understand that we want a win-win partnership" or even "supervise our youth".

"Fatshi" promises to "unravel" army and institutions

Since his divorce from Kabila, Félix Tshisekedi has been going it alone. And to please, no more question of tongue in cheek. Last week, on a visit to the northeast of the country, he crushed the Congolese army and institutions. “There are a lot of shenanigans that undermine our security forces. There is the mafia, this law of omerta, this law of silence, that is what must be tackled, ”notably declared loud and clear President Tshisekedi, who did not hesitate to mention the mafia in the Senate. And "Fatshi" promises to "unravel" all of this.

If words are important, in 2023, Félix Tshisekedi will be judged on his record. And if the president “unravels”, he must also think about rebuilding. Among the priority projects, there is of course that of safety. "I will not be proud of my mandate if I do not definitively solve the problem of insecurity," he said during his trip to the northeast of the country. But he called for “patience”. The Malian, Libyan and Chadian examples show that it will be difficult to resolve this in a few months.

Reforms expected before 2023

On the economic side, the president must also make significant progress very quickly. Tshisekedi is trying, for example, to overhaul the contracts concluded under Joseph Kabila. The "Chinese contracts" have cost the country dearly and did not bring the expected benefits. The head of state has opened the door of the DRC to the United States and seems to want to limit Chinese influence. On the other side, "Fatshi" demanded that the Congo join the East African Community. He thus hopes to develop economic relations with his neighbors in East Africa. Finally, he impatiently awaits trade routes with several of his neighbors. But the sites are behind schedule.

Tshisekedi still has two and a half years to convince public opinion to give him a second term and impose his “vision” of the country. He knows that the work ahead is immense, defending principles which are "the security of the populations, especially in the East, the improvement of the daily life of the Congolese, the fight against corruption, etc." "Fatshi" is counting on his "Sacred Union" which, he says, "was created to allow us to carry out the expected reforms until the end of my mandate".