Macron proposes postponing OIF election, Tshisekedi refuses
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mediacongo
According to Jeune Afrique, Emmanuel Macron reportedly proposed that Félix Tshisekedi postpone the election of the OIF secretary general by one or two years and keep Louise Mushikiwabo in her post, an offer the Congolese president reportedly rejected. The magazine reports that Kinshasa threatens to leave the organisation if the Rwandan is re-elected for a third term, a withdrawal that would deprive the Francophonie of more than 100 million speakers.
Emmanuel Macron reportedly proposed that Félix Tshisekedi postpone the election of the secretary general of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) by one or two years and keep Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo in post during that period, according to Jeune Afrique. The Congolese president reportedly rejected the offer, while Kinshasa threatens to leave the organisation if Mushikiwabo wins a third term.
This move follows Kinshasa’s challenge to the method of appointment on 3 November, and then its threat to reconsider its place in the Francophonie on 7 November. According to the magazine, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had been received in Kinshasa on 2 October to discuss the matter.
DR Congo has more than 100 million French speakers out of the some 350 million in the OIF, according to the same magazine. Kinshasa continues to back the candidacy of Juliana Amato Lumumba, daughter of DR Congo’s first prime minister, Patrice Emery Lumumba, against Louise Mushikiwabo, former Romanian prime minister Dacian Cioloș and Mauritania’s Coumba Ba. However, several diplomats interviewed by Jeune Afrique have reservations about her experience in managing international institutions and her knowledge of how the OIF works.
