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17-05-2026
DAKAR: Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are heading for a diplomatic battle over the leadership of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), with both fielding rival candidates as fighting grinds on in eastern Congo.
Friday is the deadline to submit candidacies for the position of secretary general of the OIF, which represents more than 320 million French speakers worldwide and brings together 90 states and governments.
The diplomatic contest is unfolding amid continued clashes between Congo and the Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebels, who seized control of the eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu in early 2025. Rwanda denies allegations from Kinshasa, Western nations and UN experts that it backs the insurgents.
Mediation efforts by the United States, Qatar and the African Union have failed to halt the fighting. The OIF post carries significant diplomatic weight, with a mandate covering education, cultural policy, human rights and economic cooperation.
Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo, the incumbent secretary general, is seeking a third term. She faces a challenge from Congo’s Juliana Lumumba, a former culture minister and the daughter of the country’s independence leader and first prime minister. Mauritania’s Coumba Ba, a presidential adviser, and Romania’s former prime minister Dacian Ciolos are also running.
Congo is world’s largest French-Speaking country
Kinshasa has thrown significant diplomatic weight behind Lumumba’s bid, which was announced in late February. The candidate recently travelled to several African countries as well as Canada, the OIF’s second-largest funder.
Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya told media that Kinshasa was pursuing the bid “in a positive and constructive spirit”, pointing to the growing demographic and cultural weight of French-speaking Africa.
With a population of about 100 million, Congo is the world’s largest French-speaking country. “For us, this election is not about rivalry between states or bilateral tensions,” Muyaya said. “The OIF is a multilateral organization that goes beyond short-term political disputes.”
Mushikiwabo, a former Rwandan foreign minister elected in 2018 with backing from France and re-elected in 2022, has framed her bid as one of continuity.
Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told media that Mushikiwabo’s bid rested on her record of strengthening and modernizing the OIF.
“Tensions that may exist between countries should not be exported into an organization that does not deal with these issues,” Nduhungirehe said.
The OIF has 53 members with voting rights, five associate members and 32 observers. It will choose its new leader at a summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 15 to 16.
Last year, Rwanda has exercised command and control over M23 rebels during their advance in eastern Congo, gaining political influence and access to mineral-rich territory, according to a confidential report by a group of United Nations experts.
The report obtained by Reuters details training which the experts say Rwanda has provided to M23 recruits and military equipment they say Rwanda has deployed notably “high-tech systems capable of neutralizing air assets” to give the rebels “a decisive tactical advantage” over Congo’s beleaguered army.
The report was submitted to the UN Security Council sanctions committee for Congo in early May and is due to be published shortly, said diplomats.
M23 has advanced in eastern Congo, seizing the region’s two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu, in January and February. Congo, the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. (Int’l News Desk)
