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DRC President Felix Tshisekedi appointed Judith Suminwa Tuluka as the country’s first-ever female Prime Minister, fulfilling a campaign promise and making an important step towards the formation of a new government after being re-elected late last year.
Her appointment ends weeks of uncertainty. Tshisekedi’s inauguration for a second term in January kickstarted a lengthy search for a majority coalition in the National Assembly – a key step before a prime minister could be named and a government formed. Judith Suminwa Tuluka, the former Planning Minister will step into the role at a time of, worsening violence in the country’s mineral-rich east, which borders Rwanda. The long-running conflict has displaced more than 7 million people according to the United Nations, making it one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. An economist, she takes over as prime minister from Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde.
The new prime minister will be tasked with pushing the president’s declared priorities of employment, youth, women, and national cohesion for the nation of about 100 million people.
The authorities face a raft of challenges including a worsening conflict and humanitarian crisis in eastern regions and the management of Congo’s considerable mineral wealth. In his first term, Tshisekedi promised to root out endemic corruption, rebuild the economy, tackle deep inequalities, and curb the eastern insecurity, but critics say he fell short on all counts.
President Tshisekedi triumphed with 73.47 percent and the vote passed largely peacefully in a country long torn by violence and instability. The opposition branded the ballot a sham. Voting was officially extended by a day due to logistical snarls and polls were open for days after in remote areas. Parties supporting Tshisekedi garnered more than 90 percent of the seats in parliament, allowing him to legislate with ease.
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According to the United Nations, some seven million people have been internally displaced by conflict in the DR Congo, one of the world’s poorest countries. The security situation has worsened in North Kivu province where a Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 has seized swathes of territory over the last two years.
