News

The Upper House of Parliament finally equipped itself with its definitive bureau on Monday, August 12, 2024, at the end of a long plenary session lasting almost half a day. It is headed by Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, former Prime Minister who soundly defeated the dean, Jonas Munkamba, 94 years old, who refused to withdraw his candidacy in favor of his designated challenger, candidate of the Sacred Union of the Nation.

An election and installation of the definitive office of the Senate which ended its extraordinary session opened since May 14 at the People’s Palace.

However, if this election was easy for some positions including the presidency, the 1st vice-president presidency, it was not the case for other positions including that of rapporteur and deputy rapporteur. Indeed, in the position of rapporteur where Justin Kalumba and Néfertiti Ngudianza were forced to go to the second round, because none of them obtained the absolute majority, in all sportsmanship and although having obtained more votes than his challenger, Justin Kalumba, former Minister of Transport and Communication Ways and candidate supported by the political grouping AACPG of Pius Muabilu withdrew from the race in favor of Néfertiti Ngudianza. While it is the position of deputy rapporteur where “the Romans grabbed each other”.

This unique position reserved for the parliamentary opposition pitted Salomon Kalonda, candidate for Ensemble pour la République, a close friend of Moïse Katumbi, against Jean-Claude Baende, unsuccessful candidate in the 2023 presidential election and former governor of the province of Équateur.

While the prognosis was in favor of this close friend of Moïse Katumbi to occupy this position by repeating the feat of the National Assembly where Dominique Munongo, another member of Ensemble pour la République had beaten Constant Mutamba, today Minister of State for Justice, to the position of deputy rapporteur of the lower house of Parliament, things went wrong. At the end of this election, Jean-Claude Baende was elected deputy rapporteur of the Senate with 52 votes against 43 votes for Salomon Kalonda. A semi-close vote that will have been a cold shower for this right-hand man of Moïse Katumbi who saw his ambitions stopped dead in his tracks to take care of the reports of the parliamentary recess of senators, according to the attributions assigned to this position.

As a result, several observers have asked themselves the question of what justifies Salomon Kalonda’s failure in this election.

According to some better-informed sources, Salomon Kalonda’s debacle was a sanction from the parliamentary majority. Seeing him in this position would be a permanent confrontation or opposition with other members of the office. Right-hand man of Moïse Katumbi, one of the fierce opponents of the Tshisekedi regime, Senator Salomon Kalonda was therefore not welcome in the Senate office. This is why the parliamentary majority did not want to take the risk of voting for a person who could destabilize the office by leaking information to “its leader”.

Moreover, Salomon Kalonda was thrown in prison for facts for which the justice system was unable to demonstrate his guilt of being in contact with the M23 rebellion before he was granted provisional release to receive treatment.

So, his behavior in the Senate office was, according to some leaders of the Sacred Union, to be feared. This is why the parliamentary majority did not want to endorse his candidacy and opted for Jean-Claude Baende, the lesser evil that would do no harm to the office.

/mediascongo.net

London – Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan discussed with his British counterpart David Lammy ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries and developments in the Gaza Strip.

This came during a meeting between the two sides, today, Wednesday, in London, according to a statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the day after Bin Farhan arrived on an open-ended visit to the United Kingdom.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry stated in the same statement that the meeting between the two ministers “took place at the headquarters of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, in the presence of the Kingdom’s Ambassador, Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan.”

During the meeting, “bilateral relations and ways to enhance and develop them in various fields were reviewed.”

The meeting also discussed “developments in the regional and international arenas, most notably the developments in the Gaza Strip.”

The Saudi Foreign Ministry stated in a statement yesterday, Tuesday, that Faisal bin Farhan arrived in London, on a visit to the United Kingdom, during which he will meet with David Lammy, without further details.

For months, Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been leading indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian factions movement, but they have not resulted in an agreement due to Israel’s rejection of the factions’ demand to end the war, withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip and return the displaced Palestinians to the north of the Strip.

New negotiations are expected to resume on Thursday, according to the mediators’ announcement about a week ago, while the war waged by Israel with American support since October 7 on the Gaza Strip continues, leaving more than 132,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

Anatolia

Ukraine’s foreign ministry called the planned election null and void and vowed that any international observers sent to observe the election would be “criminally liable.”

Russian lawmakers on Thursday decided that the country’s presidential election will be held on March 17, 2024.

Russian President Vladimir Putin moved on Friday to extend his repressive and unyielding rule of Russia for at least another six years, announcing he will run in an election he almost certainly will win.

Russian authorities plan to hold votes in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, territories that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine last September but do not fully control, as well as the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

The presidential election was announced after September’s local elections to the Russian-founded legislative bodies in the occupied parts of Ukraine. Kyiv and the West condemned the vote as rigged.

“We call on the international community to resolutely condemn Russia’s intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine and to impose sanctions on individuals involved in their organization and implementation,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.