Reuters carried this story two days ago, an interview with Tshisekedi in which he says: “When I put forward my name as a candidate it was as the president of my party, the UDPS. And I believe I’m capable of doing that at the elections without necessarily making a coalition with other candidates.”The interview made it plain that Tshisekedi is determined to run for the presidential election.
None of the local media seem to have picked up the story. In fact, the same day as the Reuters story ran, Radio Okapi ran a story on how the political opposition (including the UDPS) wanted to put forward a single candidate for the presidential election.
Vital Kamerhe recently urged the opposition to pick one sole candidate, but in private has also reportedly been suggesting that he is determined on running.
In the absence of good polling data, it is difficult to know how each candidate would do in a presidential election. Kamerhe has a solid base in the East of the country, and grew up in Bandundu and Kinshasa, while Tshiskedi has a large following in the capital, the Kasai provinces, Lubumbashi and other urban areas.