The Democratic Republic of Congo said on Saturday, Nov. 14, that it would withdraw its candidate to lead the International Organisation of La Francophonie if Rwanda pulls incumbent Louise Mushikiwabo, turning Monday’s vote for the group’s secretary-general into the latest front in the two neighbors’ conflict.[1] The 20th Francophonie summit opened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, Nov. 15.[3]
Related: U.S. Sanctions Rwanda’s Defense Ministry and Zigama Bank Over M23 Support.
What we know
Mushikiwabo, a former Rwandan foreign minister who has led the organization for eight years, is seeking a third four-year term.[3] Congo’s candidate is Juliana Amato Lumumba, a former culture minister and the daughter of Patrice Lumumba, the independence leader assassinated in 1961.[2]
Two other candidates are in the race: Coumba Bâ of Mauritania, a doctor and former government minister who presents herself as an African compromise, and Dacian Cioloș, a former Romanian prime minister and European agriculture commissioner, the only European and the only man running.[2]
Speaking in Phnom Penh, Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner said Kinshasa was prepared to drop Lumumba to help a consensus emerge, provided Rwanda stepped aside in favor of a third candidate.[1] Congo has threatened to leave the organization if Mushikiwabo is re-elected, France 24 reported, citing several sources.[1] Kinshasa has not made that threat publicly, but Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told RFI that if the result does not reflect Congo’s values, “there will be consequences.”[2]
Macron’s request and Rwanda’s refusal
French President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in Phnom Penh on Saturday, asked Rwanda to withdraw Mushikiwabo in favor of a compromise choice. After the magazine Jeune Afrique reported the request, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said Kigali had rejected it.[1]
Rwanda had earlier denounced Paris’s involvement in the race. Macron’s office said on Saturday that France had suggested both the Congolese and Rwandan candidates withdraw in the interest of unity.[3] France backed Mushikiwabo in 2018, when relations between Paris and Kigali were warming, but had said publicly it was neutral this time.[3] Macron met Cioloș at the most recent European Council meeting, though Paris has not announced a position.[2]
In his opening address on Sunday, Macron warned against “internal fractures” and urged members to preserve the organization’s unity.[3]
The war behind the vote
Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 armed group in eastern Congo, which Kigali denies.[1] The rebel movement is now part of a front led by former President Joseph Kabila, as The Boston Report covered in Kabila Launches FRN Front With M23 Rebels in Goma. At home, President Félix Tshisekedi has just signed a referendum law that opponents say opens the way to a third term.
Congo is the second-largest French-speaking country after France, with 57.3 million speakers by the OIF’s count, so its departure would be a major blow to the group.[3] The organization already lost Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which withdrew in March 2025.[2]
Mushikiwabo also faces criticism inside the organization. Some at its Paris headquarters accuse her of failing to act over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and over the three Sahel states’ exit. OIF spokesperson Oria Vande Weghe rejected the criticism and pointed to reforms since 2018, including a clear procedure for electing the secretary-general.[2]
How the vote works
Rules adopted at the 2022 summit in Djerba, Tunisia, keep consensus as the preferred way to choose a leader but allow a vote if no agreement is reached. In that case the leaders of the 53 member states elect the secretary-general by simple majority, and in a close race as few as 14 votes could be enough to win.[2]
Africa accounts for 26 of the 53 members and 65% of the world’s French speakers, which could work against Cioloș, though Congo has not ruled out supporting him if its own candidate is sidelined.[2] Counting non-full members, the organization gathers about 90 states and nations.[3] This is only the second Francophonie summit held in Asia, after Hanoi in 1997.[4]
What happens next
Leaders are due to choose the next secretary-general during the summit’s closing session on Monday, Nov. 16.[2] Several sources told RFI that Congo could announce its withdrawal as soon as the closed-door meeting ends, or in the days after in Kinshasa.[2]
Follow the region in our Africa news section.
Sources
- France 24: DR Congo, Rwanda clash over Francophonie leadership as Macron seeks compromise
- RFI: Rwanda-DRC tensions threaten to overshadow Francophonie election
- Africanews: Francophonie summit opens in Cambodia overshadowed by African tensions
- RFI: Tensions and economic turbulence in Cambodia, as it hosts Francophonie summit
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