There were no surprises at the Palais du Peuple on Saturday morning as elections results revealed that Evariste Boshab, from President Joseph Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD), had come ahead as the new speaker of the lower house of Parliament in polls held on Friday to replace its former officers.
Evariste Boshab replaces Vital Kamerhe who resigned after the Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP) parliamentary group called for him to step down after his remarks in reaction to news that President Joseph Kabila had invited Rwandan troops to eastern Congo in January were deemed by some members of the AMP to be disloyal to the President.
The AMP had vowed to remain united at the polls and left no chance to a divided opposition that failed to present a united front. Evariste Boshab received 329 votes while Francois Mwamba, leader of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) , only managed to get 75 votes.
On the web: Congo News Agency