UPDATE - DRC: Deal reached for peaceful political transition

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT OF HEAD OF THE UN ORGANIZATION STABILIZATION MISSION IN DRC, OR MONUSCO

By Fiston Mahamba and Godfrey Olukya

GOMA/ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - Representatives of the government and opposition on Saturday reached a deal for peaceful political transition in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As part of the deal, President Joseph Kabila will step down after elections get held in 2017.

Talks between the government and opposition took place under the mediation of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO).

Discussions that began on Dec. 9 finally came to fruition after several blockages. Participants finally agreed on several issues of divergence.

The political compromise signed in the presence of diplomats accredited in the DRC under the eye of the Catholic bishops notes: the retention of Joseph Kabila in power until the election and effective establishment of his successor; the primacy is granted to the Rally of the Opposition, which will appoint a Prime Minister; the setting up of a committee to monitor the agreement; the exclusion of any referendum; the organization of elections before the end of 2017; the end of prosecution of pro-democracy movements and opponents.

In his speech to the nation, a few hours before the signing of the agreement, Congolese president Joseph Kabila welcomed the agreement that will emerge from these direct talks and called on all the institutions of the Republic to get involved in its implementation.

Speaking from Belgium where he is in exile, opponent Moise Katumbi has asked that his case not be the object of blocking the signing of the agreement as suggested by the platforms that support him before declaring that he will be a candidate to the elections announced in the text of the agreement.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the DRC and head of MONUSCO, Maman Sidikou has in a statement

welcomed the agreement signed Saturday.

Sidikou congratulated the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), the whole political class, civil society and the actors on all sides for their high sense of responsibility which led to the signing of the agreement.

"The inclusiveness sought has allowed for this broader consensus, but the work must continue, political stability must be safeguarded by implementing every point of this new political road map," said Maman Sidikou.

The political crisis in the DRC resulted from the failure to hold presidential elections in last November. Advancing financial and technical constraints, the Independent National Electoral Commission was unable to convene the presidential election.

The opposition, for its part, denounced this election delay as dilatory maneuvers of Joseph Kabila, in order to remain in power beyond his last constitutional mandate. Violent protests broke out on the eve and on the day after Dec. 19, marking the end of the last term of the Congolese president.

The UN has reported a death toll of at least 40 in anti-Kabila demonstrations.