Congo’s Top Court Excludes Opposition Leader Bemba From Presidential Election

Congo’s Top Court Excludes Opposition Leader Bemba From Presidential Election
File photo: Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) addresses a news conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, August 3, 2018. Reuters/Kenny Katombe/File Photo
|Updated:

Democratic Republic of Congo’s top court on Sep. 3 definitively excluded opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba from December’s presidential election because of a witness tampering conviction at the International Criminal Court.

Bemba, a popular former vice president, was tipped as one of the leading candidates to replace outgoing President Joseph Kabila. His exclusion from the race could spark a violent reaction by his supporters.