KINSHASA: DR Congo's leader Felix Tshisekedi has submitted his candidacy for a second term in office, joining a crowded list of presidential hopefuls including opposition heavyweights and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The turbulent central African nation, a vast and impoverished country of about 100 million people, is due to hold parliamentary and presidential votes on December 20.
Tshisekedi, who came to power after an election in 2018, officially submitted his candidacy for a second five-year term in office in the capital Kinshasa.
He thereby joins over a dozen opposition candidates, including political heavyweights and senior members of the previous administration, but the opposition is far from unified.
Given the fractured opposition, the 60-year-old president is thought to stand a strong chance of winning again.
"He's in a good position," said Congolese political scientist Christian Moleka.
"He's the incumbent, he has the resources of the state, people still believe in him and he's managed to build strategic alliances," he added.
The divided political opposition would need to unite around a single candidate to stand a chance of beating Tshisekedi, according to Moleka.
But that possibility appears slim. Several opposition figures who have something prove have thrown their hats in the ring.
Moise Katumbi, a business magnate and former governor of then-Katanga province is amongst those running. He had been barred from contesting the 2018 vote.
Fellow candidate Martin Fayulu says he won the popular vote in 2018 and that Tshisekedi took the presidency illegitimately.
Nobel-Prize winner Denis Mukwege's entry into the race has complicated matters further.
Moleka said the "electoral process is built on a high level of mistrust" which could lead to disputed results.
The possibility of instability is "explosive," he added, given the backdrop of insecurity in the DRC's east.
Armed groups plague much of the mineral-rich east of the country, a legacy of regional wars that flared during the 1990s and 2000s.
One such group, the M23, has captured swathes of territory since launching an offensive in late 2021, and edged close to the eastern city of Goma.
Two former prime ministers who served under ex-Congolese president Joseph Kabila are also running: Augustin Matata and Adolphe Muzito.
The DRC's electoral commission is due to publish the list of provisional presidential candidates on October 25. — AFP
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