An extraordinary session of the National Assembly in the Democratic Republic of Congo is due to open on Tuesday 5 January. On the agenda are the examination of the petition for the dismissal of the last outgoing bureau member of the National Assembly, who had escaped due to illness, and the election of a new bureau. But for supporters of President Felix Tshisekedi, it is also an opportunity to confirm the change of majority, or even to bring down the government led by a close relative of the former head of state, Sylvestre Ilunga.
A supporter of the Sacred Union, MP Daniel Mbau has already announced that he plans to introduce a motion of censure against the government during this session… But the option must first be discussed within his parliamentary group, the MLC of the opponent and former vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba.
On the side of Joseph Kabila’s FCC, it is out of the question in any case that a motion of this type be considered when the final bureau of the Assembly has not yet been elected and installed. This is why within its ranks, there is protest against the publication on social networks of an agenda signed by the president of the so-called age bureau, the provisional bureau, which mentions among the themes of this session, parliamentary control.
For the FCC, the rules of procedure of the Assembly and a recent decision of the Constitutional Court limit the remit of this provisional bureau. It is the interpretation of this court ruling that now seems to be the subject of debate. It authorizes the age bureau to “convene an extraordinary session not only to (…) organize the election of the new permanent bureau, but also, in view of the urgency, to exercise control” over the government, public enterprises and public institutions and services.
For some deputies, this therefore authorizes the age bureau to manage the procedures related to this control. For others, on the other hand, these prerogatives are reserved for the final bureau, which has yet to be elected. The timetable for the election of the final bureau has still not been made public. As far as the age bureau is concerned, it is promised in the next few days.