KINSHASA — The Democratic Republic of Congo's ruling party on Sunday nominated incumbent head of state Joseph Kabila as their candidate in November's presidential election.
"Joseph Kabila has been selected as candidate" of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy, secretary general Evariste Boshab told the final day of a PPRD conference in Kinshasa.
The party "recommends" that the president "accept to be candidate towards his own succession", a resolution read out to the 3,500 conference attendees said.
Kabila, 40, became the country's youngest president when he succeeded his father Laurent-Desire Kabila who was assassinated in January 2001.
The PPRD nominated him as their candidate in elections in 2006 but he registered as an independent.
Kabila has yet to announce if he will run for another term on November 28 when legislative elections will also be held.
Several opposition figures have announced their candidacies, including the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party Etienne Tshisekedi.
Former national assembly president Vital Kamerhe has been nominated by his party, the Union for the Congolese People (UNC), and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) has selected Jean-Pierre Bemba, tried by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Central Africa.
On Thursday, the national electoral commission began registering candidates for both single-round elections.
The process was initially to end on September 6, but has been prolonged to September 15, the commission said.
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