• Judith Suminwa appointed first female prime minister of Congo
• Succeeds Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde after Tshisekedi’s re-election
• Focus on national development and peace; opposition criticizes election

The appointment of Judith Suminwa, the planning minister, as the inaugural female prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was announced by President Felix Tshisekedi.

She succeeds Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde as prime minister, an economist, on December 20, after Tshisekedi’s resounding re-election as president.

In January, upon Tshisekedi’s re-election, an extensive quest for a majority coalition in the National Assembly commenced – a critical prerequisite for selecting a prime minister and forming a government.

“I am aware of the immense obligation… “We shall strive for national development and peace,” Suminwa declared on national television on Monday.

December marked Tshisekedi’s official victory with 73.47 per cent of the vote; the election proceeded predominantly amicably in a nation plagued by violence and instability for decades.

The opposition condemned the ballot as fraudulent.

Voting was formally prolonged by one day due to logistical complications, and in remote regions, polling continued for several days after that.

PM’s difficulties

The political parties that backed Tshisekedi won over ninety per cent of the parliamentary seats, facilitating his ability to enact legislation.

For a country of approximately 100 million people, the newly appointed prime minister will be responsible for advancing the president’s stated priorities of employment, youth, women, and national cohesion.

Upon assuming office in 2019, Tshisekedi solemnly pledged to end the 25-year conflict in the east and improve living conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country endowed with mineral wealth but facing widespread poverty.

While not fulfilling his pledges, the president ran for re-election on the strength of his accomplishments, including providing free primary medication, and urged for another term to “consolidate” the progress made.

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Seven million people have been internally displaced due to conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s poorest countries, according to the United Nations.

In the province of North Kivu, where the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda sponsors, has seized vast swaths of territory over the past two years, the security situation has deteriorated.

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