Key Figures in Congo's Electoral Process II

15. Jonas Kadiata Nzemba Mukamba Mukamba is another Mobutiste contesting the presidency on an Alliance des democrates congolais (ADECO) party ticket. A friend of former President Mobutu Sese Seko, he was one of the country's first academics and a member of the first government under Mobutu set up after a coup d'état in 1965. Mukamba served as ambassador to Sweden and the United Kingdom before becoming head of the diamond mining company Minière de Bakwanga in Kasai Oriental Province. 16. Jacob Souga Niemba

Jacob Souga Niemba - Coalition politique de chrétiens

Niemba, 54, co-founded the Mouvement pour la défense de la démocratie et de la souveraineté du peuple (MDD-SP) party in 2005, although he is contesting the presidency for the Coalition politique des chrétiens. "My main objective is to reduce poverty by implementing laws, democratic management and a macroeconomic policy able to create wealth," he says. "I want to build a material and possibly spiritual paradise in the Congo." Niemba is a specialist in macroeconomic policy, agriculture and state and financial management. He was born in Kintieti, Bas-Congo. He obtained a doctorate in political and social sciences from the University of Ghent in Belgium. He has taught at the Brussels School of Management and at the Graben University in Butembo, North-Kivu Province. He is a lecturer at the University of Kinshasa. 17. Wivine Kavidi N'landu

Wivine Kavidi N'landu - Union pour la Défence de la République

N'landu, 57, is a presidential candidate for the Union pour la défense de la république (UDR) party. She advocates the restoration of "a state of a law" where all citizens are equal, and revamping agriculture. In addition, she would like an education system based on the "criteria of excellence". Between 1994 and 1996, she was minister of agriculture and rural development, before becoming minister for international co-operation from February 1996 to March 1997. She was born in Kinkasi in the Bas-Congo Province. In 1973, she obtained a master’s degree in African languages and literature at the University of Lubumbashi. From 1975-77 she worked as principal adviser for the Social and Cultural Committee of the Mobutiste party, the Mouvement populaire de la revolution. In 1980, President Mobutu Sese Seko appointed her secretary-general of the department of women’s affairs. Between 1981 and 1985 she lived in exile in Belgium with her husband, former Prime Minister Nguz a Karl-i-Bond, who was Mobutu's opponent. She also went into exile in South Africa in 1997 following Laurent-Desire Kabila's accession to power in 1997. In 1990, she co-founded the Union des fédéralistes et des républicains indépendants (Uferi). She is the sister of Marie-Thérèse Nlandu Mpolo Nene, who is also a presidential candidate, on a Parti pour la paix au Congo ticket. She is also a poet, noted for the collection Leurres et Lueurs. 18. Catherine Marthe wa Mbombo Nzuzi

Catherine Marthe wa Mbombo Nzuzi - Mouvement populaire de la révolution "Fait Prive"

Another Mobutiste running for the presidency is Catherine Marthe wa Mbombo Nzuzi, leader of the Mouvement populaire de la revolution ‘Fait prive’ (MPR). The party has 116 parliamentary candidates. She is minister in charge of national solidarity and humanitarian affairs in the transitional government. Hailing from Kasai Oriental Province, she is counting on the Kinshasa, Bas-Congo and Kasai Oriental electorate, where she served as governor before becoming minister. 19. Joseph Mukundji Olenghankoy

Joseph Mukundji Olenghankoy - Forces Novatrices pour l'Union et la Solidarité

Joseph Olenghankoy Mukundji, 43, has been in opposition since the 1980s. In 1985, he was imprisoned by Mobutu Sese Seko's government for helping to organise demonstrations against the government with the Union démocratique pour le progrès social (UDPS) party. In 1992, Olenghankoy participated in the creation of the "Union sacrée de l'opposition radicale". Following the National Sovereign Conference in 1991-92, he was appointed a Member of Parliament. In 1993, he founded the "Forces novatrices pour l'union et la solidarité" (FONUS) party, of which he is still leader. After criticising President Laurent-Désiré Kabila in 1998, Olenghankoy was sentenced to 15 years in prison and transferred to the Buluwo Prison in Katanga. He was incarcerated alongside Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma, who is one of 33 contestants for the presidency in the forthcoming elections. They were eventually freed. Olenghankoy represented the political opposition during the Inter-Congolese Dialogue on a power-sharing transitional government held in Sun City, South Africa, in 2002. President Joseph Kabila appointed him minister of transport and communication on 30 June 2003, but dismissed him a year later after accusations of mismanagement. Olenghankoy denied the accusations. Olenghankoy is quoted as saying his political priorities are the "rehabilitation of the state authority by creating an army capable of defending the interests of the country", and the creation of a state with enough economic security for entrepreneurs. 20. Pierre wa Syakassighe Pay-Pay

Pierre wa Syakassighe Pay-Pay - Coalition de démocrates congolais

Pay-Pay, 60, is well known in the Democratic Republic of Congo, having served in various capacities, principally in the government of Mobutu Sese Seko. In 1980, President Mobutu appointed him minister for economy, industry and trade. He was appointed general delegate for the mining giant, Gecamines, in the province of Katanga in 1984. Pay-Pay also served as governor of the Central Bank (Banque du Zaïre) from 1985-91, and minister of finance from 1994-96. He was born on 10 July 1946 in Bukavu, South Kivu Province, and obtained a master's degree in economics at the Lovanium University in 1969. In 1975, he was nominated vice-president of the National Association of Pharmaceutical Sector Companies of Zaïre (Aneza). When Laurent-Desiré Kabila became president in May 1997, Pay-Pay went into exile in Belgium. However, he maintained close links with the Mai-Mai resistance during the 1998-2002 civil war. Pay-Pay, who is still regarded as a Mobutiste to a certain extent, has been a member of parliament since 2003. He is the presidential candidate of the Coalition des démocrates congolais (CODECO) political platform, which he created. The coalition has 602 legislative contenders, putting it second after incumbent President Joseph Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD). Pay-Pay's stronghold is in the province of South Kivu. However, he benefits from openings in other provinces due to the political alliances he has created. "I will be present for the second leg of the elections," he was quoted as saying. His political agenda includes the management of the country in line with international institutions; the autonomy of the central bank; the independence of the judiciary; improved working conditions; regular salaries for civil servants; and the implementation of a commission to reform the army. 21. Azarias Manywa Ruberwa

Azarias Manywa Ruberwa - Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD)

Ruberwa, 42, is one of the four vice-presidents in the transitional government and is in charge of defence and security. He is contesting the presidency on the ticket of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma). The once Rwandan-backed RCD was a rebel group until the creation of the transitional government when it was transformed into a political party. Ruberwa holds a law degree from the University of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province and was called to the bar there in 1993. He hails from Minembwe in the Hauts Plateaux region of South Kivu Province and is a Tutsi - an ethnic group known in eastern DRC as the Banyamulenge, whose ancestral roots are traced to neighbouring Rwanda. He entered the political arena during the 1997 rebellion against President Mobutu Sese Seko. With the success of the rebellion, he became director of the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in President Laurent-Desire Kabila's government from 1997 through 1998. During this period, he represented the DRC at negotiations on the creation of the International Criminal Court, following the Treaty of Rome. However, Ruberwa later joined a new rebellion launched in 1998, whose origin, like the first, was for the rights of the Banyamulenge. He evolved within the movement and was appointed its leader on 16 June 2003, replacing Adolphe Onusumba Yemba, who had held the post since October 2000. Ruberwa thus became the fourth head of the RCD-Goma after Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, Emile Ilunga Kalambo and Onusumba. As RCD-Goma leader, he was picked as one of the four vice-presidents of the transitional government under a power-sharing agreement signed in Sun City, South Africa, in 2002. [On the Net: http://www.gethia.com/: Azarias Ruberwa Manywa for President 2006 ] 22. Arthur Ngoma Z'Ahidi

Arthur Ngoma Z'Ahidi - Camps de la patrie

Arthur Ngoma Z'Ahidi, 59, is a vice-president in the transitional government in charge of the Social Cultural Commission. He is contesting under the Camps de la patrie (CP) party, also called "the force of the future". He became one of the country's four vice-presidents representing the political opposition in the transitional government following the inter-Congolese dialogue in 2002. He joined the opposition from the Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD), then a rebel group. The former university lecturer is also a former employee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Z'Ahidi was arrested in 1997 for engaging in political activities with the arrival of Laurent-Desire Kabila, who led a rebellion to overthrow President Mobutu Sese Seko. Z'Ahidi was jailed alongside opposition leader Joseph Olenghankoy and army officer Masasu Nendaga when Kabila suspended political parties. After a year, Z'Ahidi went into exile under the pretext of seeking medical attention. Z'Ahidi's party is presenting 183 parliamentary candidates in the elections. Principal Government Officials Vice President - Jean-Pierre Bemba Vice President - Azarias Ruberwa Vice President - Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi Vice President - Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma Key Ministers Foreign Affairs - Raymond Ramazani Defence - Adolphe Onusumba Interior - Theophile Mbemba Finance - Andre-Philippe Futa Justice - Honorius Ksimba Ngoy Information and Press - Henri Mova Sakanyi