Congo Opposition Leaders Sign Coalition Accord Before Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic Republic of Congo opposition leaders signed a coalition accord and set themselves a deadline to select a joint candidate for presidential elections due on Dec. 23.

The agreement came after two days of talks in South Africa. It enables the opposition to present a unified front against Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who’s been chosen by Congo’s ruling coalition to succeed President Joseph Kabila after 17 years in power.

Seven opposition heads will meet by Nov. 15 to nominate a single candidate, they said in a joint statement sent by mobile-phone text message from Union for the Congolese Nation leader Vital Kamerhe’s office in the capital, Kinshasa, on Friday.

Other than Kamerhe, signatories of the accord include Felix Tshisekedi, the leader of Congo’s largest opposition party, Martin Fayulu and Freddy Matungulu. All four have registered as candidates for the presidential poll.

Moise Katumbi, Jean-Pierre Bemba and Adolphe Muzito, who were either blocked from filing their candidacy or disqualified by the electoral commission, also put their name to the document.

To contact the reporter on this story: William Clowes in Kinshasa at wclowes@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Pauline Bax

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