Legislators in the DR Congo on Wednesday, January 27, voted to remove Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilukamba.

This comes after a majority in the country’s lower house of parliament backed a motion of no confidence in the prime minister, last week.

The motion initially carried the signatures of more than 300 of the National Assembly’s 500 members, giving Ilukamba 48 hours to resign or face a no-confidence vote.

Eventually, the National Assembly approved a motion of censure against Ilukamba and his government by 367 votes to seven.

The MPs accuse Ilukamba, 73, an ally of former President Joseph Kabila, and his ministers of poor performance. Kabila's allies including Ilunga boycotted Wednesday's no-confidence vote, saying the interim speaker of parliament did not have the constitutional authority to oversee a motion of no confidence.

But Ilukamba, who was not present during the vote in parliament, was given 24 hours to resign.

This will be the first time in DR Congo that a government is forced to resign.

Prime Minister since 2019, Ilukamba was previously the head of DR Congo's national railway company, known as the SNCC, and had served in various government posts since the 1970s.

Observers say his no-confidence vote by parliament is likely to collapse the government and hand President Felix Tshisekedi a big political victory as the latter will be able to appoint loyalists to key ministries.

Last month, Tshisekedi ended a coalition formed with his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, whose allies dominated key ministries.

Since then, it is reported, Tshisekedi persuaded MPs to defect from Kabila's alliance, which previously held the majority in parliament and was reportedly stalling the President's reform programme.

Last month, the National Assembly also voted 281 to 200 to impeach speaker Jeanine Mabunda, a close Kabila ally, accusing her of conflictual and partisan leadership and not being transparent about her management of the body’s finances.

Must resign in 24 hours

Speaking to The New Times on Thursday, Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, a member of DR Congo's National Assembly since 2011, said that "the direct consequence is that the PM must resign 24 hours after the vote." 

"The majority in parliament chose to support the President’s vision of Union Sacrée and we made some key movements starting by the removal of the Speaker and the government was the second step and now the President can freely appoint a new team to realise his vision."

Asked about how things stood Thursday, and the whereabouts of the PM, the lawmaker said they were waiting to see how things evolve during the day.

"He came back from Lubumbashi yesterday where he met the former president. The political context has changed since President Tshisekedi called for a new majority. He decided to end Kabila’s (coalition) deal because of a lot of conflicts and misunderstandings. Now with the fall of the PM he has the opportunity to start a new chapter of his presidency."