Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
Providence Magazine
1 February, 2019
Originally published: https://providencemag.com/2019/02/how-should-the-us-deal-with-the-congos-president-tshisekedi/
President Félix Tshisekedi was sworn in as the new president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on January 24, days after the country’s Constitutional Court
rejected an appeal against the results of the controversial December 30
elections. Though not free of controversy, this marks the first
peaceful transfer of power in the DRC and should also mark the end of
the Kabila dynasty.
While originally silent about the electoral results, the US
government ultimately congratulated the new Congolese government. It
will be important to monitor the future of Kinshasa-Washington relations
in the post-Kabila era.
Results and Responses
After many delays, the DRC held elections on December 30—they were originally supposed to occur in 2016 and most recently on December 23, 2018.
According to the Independent National Election Commission, Tshisekedi
received 38.5 percent of the vote, compared with Martin Fayulu’s 34.7
percent and ruling coalition candidate Emmanuel Shadary’s 23.8 percent, the BBC explains.
Fayulu protested the results, stating that he is the rightful winner
and that President Tshisekedi’s victory was the result of an agreement between him and now former-President Joseph Kabila so that the latter can maintain his influence over the Congolese government.
Fayulu appealed against the election’s results, claiming that they were rigged, while the influential Catholic Church in the DRC stated that its own electoral observers made it clear that Tshisekedi was not the winner. There were also protests against President Tshisekedi’s victory,
though not as widespread and violent as in previous years. In any case,
the protests, accusations, and allegations did not stop the swear-in
ceremony, and President Tshisekedi is now in control of the massive and
resource-rich African nation.
What Should Washington Do Now?
A US State Department press release published on January 23
congratulated President Tshisekedi’s victory, saluting a peaceful and
democratic transfer of power and even congratulated former-President
Kabila for ceding power. Nevertheless, there was a small caveat to the
statement, as the communiqué encouraged “the government to
include a broad representation of Congo’s political stakeholders and to
address reports of electoral irregularities.” This sentence can be
regarded as a continuation of a January 16 press release,
which declared that “the United States will hold accountable those who
perpetrate election violence or undermine democratic processes.” It goes
without saying that the government has little interest to review the
results of the elections.
With President Tshisekedi now in power, the question is what will
Washington’s policy be toward the new regime. Trade between the two
countries is quite limited: according to the US Office of the Trade Representative,
US goods exports to the DRC in 2017 were $76 million, while US goods
imports from the country totaled $86 million. Foreign direct investment
is similarly low, at around $76 million.
The real problem was that the lengthy Kabila regime was well known
for its corrupt practices. This prompted the US Department of the
Treasury and its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to impose sanctions on various Congolese individuals,
ranging from policymakers to senior security officers. Of course, these
sanctions did not deter the Kabila regime from staying in power for
over a decade and a half.
Thus, the election of a new president gives Washington and Kinshasa
an opportunity to restart. The Congolese leader has promised to release
all political prisoners, which would be a positive first step at
improving relations. Also important is that any cabinet members in the
Tshisekedi administration are not under OFAC sanctions. Experts on the
DRC whom the author interviewed highlighted that they are hopeful
Washington will get along well with the new government, particularly as
the new president is from the opposition and was not the
Kabila-supported candidate. While this is true, we will have to see how
President Tshisekedi deals with the former regime, particularly as
Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC) coalition has a parliamentary
majority, meaning the next prime minister will come from the pro-Kabila
coalition, as AfricaNews explains.
Final Thoughts
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a complicated country, not just
because of the recent elections but also due to the nation’s other challenges, such as violence in the eastern provinces and a deadly outbreak of Ebola, not to mention the ever-present poverty and corruption.
After delayed and controversial elections and a less than ideal
inauguration ceremony, there is a head of state in the DRC whose last
name is not Kabila. This is a historic milestone in itself. The
international community, in particular the US government, which has
placed many sanctions on Congolese officials, will be closely monitoring
whether this change of the guard in the African nation is anything to
be hopeful about.
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez is an analyst who focuses on geopolitical, military. and cybersecurity issues. @W_Alex_Sanchez.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and
do not necessarily reflect those of any institutions with which the
author is associated.
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