DR Congo government dissolved after prime minister resigns

The prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, resigned on Tuesday triggering the dissolution of his government, the presidency said in a statement.

Lukonde handed his resignation to President Felix Tshisekedi eight days after the validation of his mandate as a national deputy.

He plans to join parliament, after being elected in the country’s December polls as a member of the assembly representing the Kasenga district.

It is a legal requirement in the DRC that serving ministers are not members of parliament, which means one has to choose whether to remain a legislator or quit to remain in government.

In a second statement on Tuesday, the presidency said it had called on Lukonde’s government to continue running the country until the formation of a new administration.

Lukonde was appointed prime minister in February 2021, at the age of 43, following the break-up of the alliance between Tshisekedi’s coalition and that of former president, Joseph Kabila.

After Tshisekedi was re-elected in December, he named a representative to identify a majority coalition within the National Assembly in view of forming his next government.

According to the provisional results which must be confirmed by the Constitutional Court, the parties supporting Tshisekedi won almost 94 per cent of the seats in the assembly.