The president of Rwanda Paul Kagame, has accused Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of using the unrest in eastern Congo as an excuse to postpone elections.
Fighting in eastern DRC between government forces and rebels from the M23, a former Tutsi rebellion, has heightened tensions with neighbouring Rwanda, which the DRC accuses of encouraging the militia. Kigali denies any involvement.
Talks between the two countries in Angola last week led to a ceasefire that appears to have held for several days.
In a state address on Wednesday (November 30), Kagame said “the whole world” blamed Rwanda for the crisis, but that it was Felix Tshisekedi who was seeking to profit from the violence ahead of the presidential election scheduled for 20 December 2023.
In the DRC, the presidential election is a one-round election, coupled with legislative elections as well as elections for provincial deputies and communal councillors.
“This problem can be solved if a country that is heading for elections next year does not try to create the conditions for an emergency situation so that the elections do not take place,” Kagame said at a swearing-in ceremony for new cabinet members.
Source: Africa News