Congolese opposition looks to Belgium for support in elections

Vital Kamerhe (pictured), opposition leader and president of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) has requested Belgium’s help with the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), scheduled for November 2016. "We ask that Belgium act as our Ambassador to the European Union," he said, according to Belgian media.

"Given the long history between Belgium and the DRC, the country cannot remain indifferent during the election process," said Kamerhe after his meeting with Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders (MR) in Kinshasa. Kamerhe is asking that Belgium "pull its weight" financially in the elections.

Kamerhe also stressed the importance of the international community’s support in making sure the elections are carried out successfully, which was not the case during the hotly disputed elections of 2011, which has led to a surge of violent protest throughout the country ever since.

The opposition is demanding that President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power for 14 years, quit when his mandate expires in 2016. Kabila was returned to office in 2006, in the DRC’s first free elections since independence from Belgium in 1960.