Parliamentarians in the Democratic Republic of Congo have voted to oust Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba, collapsing the government and handing President Felix Tshisekedi a chance to appoint loyalists to key ministries.
Last month Tshisekedi moved to end a coalition formed with his predecessor Joseph Kabila that has constrained Tshisekedi's authority since he took office in January 2019.
This culminated in Wednesday's no-confidence vote against the prime minister, one of the last vestiges of Kabila's hold on government.
It passed with 367 of 377 votes.
"The government of Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba is deemed to have resigned. The prime minister is required to submit the resignation of his government within 24 hours," said Mboso Nkodia Puanga, interim Speaker of the lower house of parliament.
Kabila's allies, including Ilunkamba, boycotted the vote, saying the interim Speaker of parliament did not have constitutional authority to oversee a motion of no confidence.
Tshisekedi's new political alliance, known as the Sacred Union, will give the president a large legislative majority and unshackle him from an alliance with his powerful predecessor - though Kabila will retain influence over the country's security services.
However, Tshisekedi may find it difficult to juggle the diverging interests of the coalition, which will likely comprise more than 20 parties.
The coalition "is more a heterogeneous assembly based on interests and haggling," said Onesphore Sematumba from Brussels-based International Crisis Group.
"This Sacred Union has the same fragilities as the previous coalition."
Australian Associated Press
