Kinshasa, March 3rd of 2023.

At one side of the DA, Moïse Katumbi is a rising leader, one which is a vocal anti-corruption activist, politician and Congolese entrepreneur who believes in liberalism, the free market, and a stable democratic framework from which the Democratic Republic of the Congo can prosper, and with it, the entire African continent. On the other side, we have Félix Tshisekedi, a man whose ambitions are to stabilize the DRC and maintain the peace; one of the main contributors to the accords which brought peace to the Kivu conflict, the Congolese politician is seen as a bridge between the “New Politics” and the “Old Kabilists” of the DRC.

While the competition between them seems fierce to the outside eye, after all, both of them have done a lot for the DRC; the DA itself realizes that there is a necessity for new blood and for new leadership; Félix represents the compromise between the Kabila dictatorships and the fledgling democracy that the DRC is looking forward to. The people in the party, initially, nominated five prominent party members to the Presidency, but the competition soon fell to Katumbi and Tshisekedi and then, only to Moïse Katumbi, who won the internal party vote to be the nominee of the DA to the presidency of the DRC in the 2023 elections.

With Katumbi’s victory as the nominee, the party, to Congolese media, started to be seen as a new fierce party that wished to unshackle itself from its past and to push forward new, democratic change, with international cooperation and with a lot of negotiations with international investors. With the defeat, Tshisekedi was reportedly disappointed and morose, although he congratulated his opponent with a warm smile, regardless of the situation.

Katumbi, however, in a surprising move, has proposed a party unity ticket with Félix, and told the press that his campaign will consist of Katumbi as the nominee for the Presidency, and Félix Tshisekedi as his running mate for the position of Prime Minister of the DRC.

This is seen as a good compromise; as Félix is still seen as a good candidate, especially after his policies with the Kivu Conflict. According to the incumbent president himself, he concurs fiercely with Katumbi’s anti-corruption rhetoric, and wants to cooperate, as much as possible, to rid the DRC of political corruption, cronyism, nepotism, and all of the other “corrupt plagues” that are currently bringing the DRC down.

The press, and especially RTNC journalists, have asked Moïse Katumbi for a comment; he replied the following:

“Winning this nomination is an honor, and a privilege. It means that my party puts trust in me. They trust me to bring the DRC forward, so that all of the Congolese can fight for a more prosperous future with new investments, new government policies, new infrastructure projects, the possibilities are endless. We are going to make history together, as one nation, indivisible under God; and I thank all of the party members of the DA that have entrusted me with their vote; the elections are going to be promising to all of us.”