The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo named a former member of the largest opposition party as prime minister on Friday, a move likely to further divide Joseph Kabila's opponents after talks to negotiate his exit from power broke down last week.

A statement from the presidency named Bruno Tshibala the prime minister of a new transitional government meant to organise a presidential election by the end of this year following Kabila's refusal to step down when his mandate expired in December.

Tshibala replaces Samy Badibanga, who resigned on Thursday.

READ MORE: DRC tense as police clash with anti-Kabila protesters

Polls were not held last year because of what the government said were budgetary constraints, sparking violent protests at the end of last year in which security forces killed at least 40 people.

Critics say Kabila deliberately delayed elections in order to remain in power.

DRC's conference of Catholic bishops (CENCO) helped to negotiate a December 31 deal aimed at avoiding a political crisis by ensuring an election this year to elect Kabila's successor.

The bishops stepped aside last week after progress on the deal stalled.

Congolese police fired rounds into the air and launched tear gas canisters to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters in the capital Kinshasa after the negotiations broke down.

Nomination 'departure from accord'

Tshibala was expelled from the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Congo's largest opposition party, last month after he contested the designation of successors to veteran leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in February.

Tshibala's nomination as prime minister escalates tensions ahead of a mass march on April 10, called for by the UDPS in Kinshasa to protest delays in implementing the deal.

Under the December political agreement, the opposition coalition known as the Rassemblement was to pick a prime minister, but divisions within the coalition complicated efforts to choose a candidate.

Kabila's announcement on Friday came two days after the president said he would name a new prime minister if the opposition could not agree on a candidate.

READ MORE: Deal finalised on peaceful political transition in DRC

Tshisekedi's son, Felix, who replaced his father as president of the Rassemblement, said Kabila violated the deal by not naming a candidate of the alliance's choosing.

"We continue to demand the application of the December 31, 2016 accord," he told Reuters news agency. "The nomination of Bruno Tshibala is a departure from the accord."

Tshibala will be confronted immediately with stern security and economic tests.

Congo's franc currency has lost nearly half its value since last year and violence has worsened across the country in the wake of Kabila's decision to stay in power.

The country, which suffered through two wars between 1996 and 2003, has not had a democratic transition of power since its independence from Belgium in 1960.</s>Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila addresses the nation at Palais du Peuple in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe

DAKAR (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila named a former member of the largest opposition party as prime minister on Friday, a move likely to further divide Kabila's opponents after talks to negotiate his exit from power broke down.

A statement from the presidency named Bruno Tshibala as prime minister in a new transitional government meant to organise a presidential election by year-end following Kabila's refusal to step down when his mandate expired in December.

Opponents of Kabila, who has ruled Congo since his father's assassination in 2001, suspect he intends to repeatedly delay elections until he can organise a referendum to let himself stand for a third term, as his counterparts in neighbouring Congo Republic and Rwanda have done.

Kabila denies those charges, saying the election delays are due to challenges registering millions of voters and budgetary constraints.

Security forces killed dozens of civilians in protests over election delays last year. Worsening militia violence in recent months has meanwhile raised fears of a backslide toward the civil wars of the turn of the century that killed millions.

Under a deal struck with the opposition in December, Kabila can stay in office until after an election required to be held by the end of this year. But negotiations to implement the pact collapsed last week and Tshibala's nomination is almost certain to weaken fledgling efforts to make Kabila abide by it.

Tshibala's nomination escalates tensions ahead of a mass march his former party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), has called for next Monday in the capital Kinshasa to protest delays implementing the deal.

Tshibala was expelled from the UDPS last month after he and other prominent opposition leaders contested the designation of successors to veteran leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in February.

Tshisekedi's son, Felix, who replaced his father as president of the main opposition bloc, said Kabila violated the deal by not naming a candidate of the alliance's choosing.

"We continue to demand the application of the Dec. 31, 2016 accord," he told Reuters. "The nomination of Bruno Tshibala is a departure from the accord."

Tshibala will be confronted immediately with stern security and economic tests. Congo's franc currency has lost nearly half its value since last year and militia violence has worsened across the country in the wake of Kabila's decision to stay on.</s>DAKAR, April 7 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila named a former member of the largest opposition party as prime minister on Friday, a move likely to further divide Kabila's opponents after talks to negotiate his exit from power broke down last week.

A statement from the presidency named Bruno Tshibala the prime minister of a new transitional government meant to organise a presidential election by the end of this year following Kabila's refusal to step down when his mandate expired in December. (Reporting By Aaron Ross; Editing by Tim Cocks and Angus MacSwan)</s>Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila named a former member of the largest opposition party as prime minister Friday, a move likely to further divide Kabila's opponents after talks to negotiate his exit from power broke down last week.

A statement from the presidency named Bruno Tshibala the prime minister of a new transitional government meant to organise a presidential election by the end of this year following Kabila's refusal to step down when his mandate expired in December.

Under a deal struck with the opposition in December, Kabila can stay in office until after an election required to be held by the end of this year. But negotiations to implement the pact collapsed last week and Tshibala's nomination is almost certain to weaken fledgling efforts to make Kabila abide by it.

Tshibala was expelled from the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Congo's largest opposition party, last month after he contested the designation of successors to veteran leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in February.

Tshibala will be confronted immediately with stern security and economic tests. Congo's franc currency has lost nearly half its value since last year and militia violence has worsened across the country in the wake of Kabila's decision to stay on.</s>President Joseph Kabila has named a politician who was recently kicked out of Congo’s main opposition party as the country’s new prime minister, a move seen as unlikely to placate protests over delayed elections. Bruno Tshibala, 61, had been a key player in the opposition coalition known as the Rassemblement that signed a political agreement with the ruling party in December.

Not long after that accord was reached, however, Congo’s top opposition politician, Etienne Tshisekedi, died of a pulmonary embolism while seeking medical treatment in Belgium. Thisekedi’s son Felix emerged as a successor, but Tshibala contested his legitimacy as the new UDPS party head and was ultimately excluded from the party. Followers of the late Tshisekedi are thus considered unlikely to support Tshibala.

Under the December agreement, the opposition coalition was to pick a prime minister, but internal divisions complicated efforts to choose a candidate. Earlier this week Kabila said he would announce his own choice if no consensus could be reached.

Kabila came to power after the 2001 assassination of his father, and the opposition reacted strongly late last year when the next presidential election wasn’t held. Dozens were killed in violent demonstrations around the country, according to human rights groups.

The Catholic church intervened and held political talks with all the parties in an attempt to avoid more deadly clashes. The agreement reached in December has been slow to implement but calls for Kabila to step down after the next vote, expected before the end of this year.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>Congolese Prime Minister Samy Badibanga (pictured) resigned on April 7, 2017 as part of a power-sharing deal brokered by President Joseph Kabila with the opposition (AFP Photo/JUNIOR D.KANNAH)

Kinshasa (AFP) - President Joseph Kabila on Friday named an opposition leader as prime minister for the Democratic Republic of Congo, honouring a pledge made as part of a stalled power-sharing deal agreed in December.

Bruno Tshibala, a spokesman for the "Rassemblement" (Unity) coalition of parties opposed to Kabila's rule, will replace Samy Badibanga, who resigned as prime minister earlier Friday.

But the party, formed by veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, has struggled to live up to its name.

Tshisekedi was to have led the transitional watchdog overseeing the power-sharing accord, but his death in February threw the Unity grouping into turmoil.

Tshibala in particular contested the push by Tshisekedi's son Felix to take over as leader, prompting his exclusion from the group as well as the UDPS party.

While announcing his plan to name a new premier on Wednesday, Kabila urged the opposition "to overcome its internal squabbles" and hand him a list of candidates for the post of prime minister.

The appointment of a new premier is part of the deal brokered by the influential Catholic church on New Year's Eve, which aimed to avoid a full-blown crisis in the central African country after Kabila refused to step down when his second and final five-year term ended in December.

The agreement would allow Kabila, 45, to remain in office until elections in late 2017, ruling in tandem with a transitional watchdog and a new premier chosen from within the opposition ranks.

Violence has flared across the central African country of 71 million people amid fears of a continued delay in this year's promised elections.

The country, which suffered through two wars between 1996 and 2003, has not had a democratic transition of power since its independence from Belgium in 1960.</s>" Congo's prime minister has stepped down three months after being chosen by President Joseph Kabila, as tensions mount over the fate of a political agreement with the opposition. Kabila on Wednesday said he would name a successor to Samy Badibanga within 48 hours if the opposition could not agree on a candidate.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The New Zealand Herald.</s>Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister Samy Badibanga has handed in his resignation as part of a deal brokered by the Catholic church to end a political crisis in the country, UN-backed Radio Okapi reports .

It follows a speech yesterday from President Joseph Kabila, in which he told MPs that he would name an opposition prime minister within the next 48 hours.

Mr Kabila said he would stick to the electoral calendar agreed as part of the deal with the opposition, which requires polls to be held before the end of 2017.

There has been growing unrest in the country after he failed to step down when his second and final term in office ran out in December.

Mr Badibanga handed in his notice at the presidential palace in the capital Kinshasa, Radio Okapi adds, quoting one of his aides.</s>Civilians gather as they listen to the Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila addressing the nation outside Palais du Peuple in the capital Kinshasa, April 5, 2017. Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila pledged on Wednesday to restore order to the country's restive Kasai region, where a worsening insurgency poses the most serious threat to his 16-year rule.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>KINSHASA, Congo — Congo's prime minister has stepped down three months after being chosen by President Joseph Kabila, as tensions mount over the fate of a political agreement with the opposition.

Kabila on Wednesday said he would name a successor to Samy Badibanga within 48 hours if the opposition could not agree on a candidate.

Under the agreement reached in December, the prime minister post should go to someone within the opposition coalition known as the Rassemblement. But divisions within the coalition have complicated efforts to choose a candidate.

Longtime opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi died in February and talks were temporarily put on hold.

Other key provisions of the peace deal call for elections to be held before the end of the year, without Kabila as a candidate.
President Joseph Kabila appoints Bruno Tshibala of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kabila's earlier announcement of his decision to appoint a new prime minister prompted Samy Badibanga to resign from the role after less than five months in office.