UDPS candidate Etienne Tshisekedi rejected a joint bid of the opposition in the forthcoming presidential election during a press conference in Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, on Saturday.

Mr. Tshisekedi said that the Union for Democracy and Social Progress has never been for a joint candidacy of the opposition to win elections.

“The elections are being held for the Congolese people, who are sovereign. They all want change. They know what they need to do, even if they were in front of 1000 candidates,” he said.

Asked about the plane he has chartered for his campaign, Mr. Tshisekedi said that the lease for the jet ends on Monday, November 21. He said he will continue campaigning with a DC- 3, which will probably arrive on Saturday, November 19.

Campaigning in Bunia, Orientale Province, Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) presidential candidate Vital Kamerhe, an opposition party, also rejected the strategy of a joint bid, which he said would benefit incumbent President Joseph Kabila. Instead, he proposed a strategy of “encirclement”.

On the web: Congo News Agency | Radio Okapi article