DRC: Union sacrée got more votes than expected

Felix Tshisekedi, president of the DR Congo, is in full control of a new government unveiled after a four-month power struggle with predecessor Joseph Kabila.

The president had in February named the head of state-owned mining giant Gecamines, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, as prime minister.

The inauguration of the first government dubbed Union sacrée took place on Monday 26 April. The new Prime Minister, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, received a resounding success, with 410 MPs voting in favour out of 412 present.

The day after the inauguration, the European Union and 17 countries of the international community, including the United States and France, issued a joint statement. They describe the inauguration of the first government of the Sacred Union as a historic opportunity to meet the expectations of the population.

With backing from both the US and European Union, Tshisekedi, 57, has a free hand to work on his priorities of slashing corruption and the poverty that affects two-thirds of Congolese, as well as pacifying the more than 100 armed militias plaguing the country's east.