After President Tshisekedi’s inauguration for a second term in January sparked a protracted hunt for a majority coalition in the National Assembly, her appointment puts an end to weeks of uncertainty.
Judith Suminwa Tuluka, the planning minister for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was named the country’s first female prime minister, official television said.
She is an economist who succeeded Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde as prime minister on Monday. Felix Tshisekedi won a landslide reelection on December 20.
With an official victory percentage of 73.47 percent, Tshisekedi’s election was mostly conducted peacefully in a nation that has long been plagued by violence and instability.
The opposition called for a mock ballot.
Due to administrative snags, voting was officially prolonged by one day, and in isolated regions, polls remained open for days beyond.
More than 90% of the seats in parliament were won by Tshisekedi’s party, which made it easy for him to pass laws.
“Consolidate” advancement
For the country of over 100 million people, the new prime minister will have to advance the president’s stated goals of jobs, youth, women, and national cohesion.
He took office as president in 2019 with the pledge to stop 25 years of violence in the east and improve living conditions in the mineral-rich but mostly impoverished Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Despite breaking his pledges, Tshisekedi ran for a second term on the platform of his accomplishments, including free primary care, and requested an additional mandate to “consolidate” the gains.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of the world’s poorest nations, has seen internal displacement of about seven million people due to conflict.
In North Kivu province, where the M23 rebel group has taken control of large areas of land throughout the past two years, the security situation has gotten worse.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
