KINSHASA, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo on Sunday dropped his presidential bid and said he would back a joint opposition candidate following recommendations of four opposition candidates that met in South Africa this week.
In a speech posted on his X social media account, Matata Ponyo said he would throw his support behind Moise Katumbi, a millionaire businessman and former governor of the copper-rich Katanga region.
Katumbi is expected to launch his campaign for the Dec. 20 election on Monday.
Representatives of Congo’s main opposition parties held talks this week in Pretoria on how to ensure the general election would be fair and to decide on a potential joint candidate to challenge President Felix Tshisekedi.
Opposition parties are concerned that the election will be flawed, and have alleged irregularities during the voter registration period which they said were orchestrated by the national election commission to favour Tshisekedi’s ruling coalition.
The commission has denied the accusation, promising a fair election.
“In a bid to do whatever it takes to remain in power, this regime has intelligently put in place a…
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