DRC: Who will succeed Joseph Kabila?

The candidate of the ruling coalition in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be known in the coming hours.

The ruling coalition in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Common Front for Congo (FCC) is expected to nominate its presidential candidate in the coming hours.

President Joseph Kabila held talks with other FCC leaders on Tuesday to discuss the candidate’s choice for the presidential election.

Kabila had asked each component of the FCC to suggest four names to choose his presidential candidate scheduled for December 23 after two postponements.

“We agreed to continue to scrutinize the proposals requested from each component,” said government spokesman Lambert Mende.

Kabila, who should have left his post two years ago, is constitutionally excluded from a new race for a third term.

The president of the DRC has not yet declared publicly that he will not stand in the next presidential election.

Candidates for the presidency must submit their candidatures to the electoral commission late afternoon on Wednesday.

Eight political figures in the country have already done so.

Among them, former Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba, who returned to the DRC last week after being acquitted of war crimes before the International Criminal Court.

The deadline for submitting applications is Wednesday, August 8 at 15:30 GMT, said the president of the electoral commission.