The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sama Lukonde Kyenge, tendered his resignation to President Felix Tshisekedi, as announced by the DRC presidential office on Tuesday via the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.
Sama Lukonde Kyenge assumed the role of prime minister on February 15, 2021.
The resignation comes following a ruling by the Constitutional Court of the DRC on February 8, which highlighted the incompatibility between government and legislative functions. The court mandated that ministers, provincial governors, and members of political cabinets who were also elected in legislative elections must resign from their political roles unless they choose to relinquish their electoral mandates.
In a decree issued by the Constitutional Court, it was stated, “Consequently, (the Constitutional Court) demands that the members of the government, the ministerial cabinets, and the general secretariat of the government who are newly elected national deputies, senators, provincial deputies, municipal councillors of sectors or chiefdom and who have opted for their electoral mandate, automatically and immediately lose their incompatible functions.”
During the general elections held on December 20, 2023, 31 out of the 60 members of the government, including the prime minister, were elected as national deputies. The elections witnessed the participation of nearly 44 million voters who cast their ballots to elect a new president, deputies, as well as provincial and municipal councillors.
Felix Tshisekedi secured his re-election with a majority of 73.47 per cent of the votes and was sworn in for his new term on January 20, 2024.
Following Sama Lukonde Kyenge’s resignation, on February 7, President Felix Tshisekedi appointed Augustin Kabuya Tshilumba, the secretary-general of the ruling party Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), to oversee the formation of the next government. The UDPS emerged victorious with 69 seats in the 500-member National Assembly, surpassing 44 other parties in the general elections.
