DRC: Ally of President Tshisekedi elected head of parliament

The ally President Felix Tshisekedi returns to a role he has led before. Vital Kamerhe, speaker of the national assembly from 2006-2009, was elected Wednesday to the same position, ending months of bickering and a threat by the President to dissolve parliament.

A veteran of Congolese politics, the 65-year-old became allies with Tshisekedi in 2018, when he withdrew his candidacy for president. 

His Union for the Congolese Nation party also played a key role in helping Tshisekedi in dismantle a coalition with his predecessor Joseph Kabila in 2020.

But Kamerhe who served as Tshisekedi's chief of staff was soon arrested and sentenced to 20 years in jail for embezzlement. In 2022, he was acquitted on appeal and released.

In 2023, Kamerhe returned to Tshisekedi's cabinet as minister of the economy just in time for the election in which Tshisekedi won a second term as president.

His election as speaker of parliament paves way for the formation of a new government.