Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo is gearing up for its second presidential election since the end of its 1998-2003 war on Monday in a test of its stability and future hopes of finally capitalising on its vast resource wealth.
A full-length portrait of President Joseph Kabila can be found on. Here are sketches of his main rivals:
ETIENNE TSHISEKEDI
The 78-year-old veteran opposition leader is taking part in his first and possibly last election. Having been a thorn in the side of ex-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko during the 1980s and the 1990s, he was briefly a prime minister under half-hearted reform efforts in the latter stages of Mobutu's rule.
Tshisekedi spent much of the time during Congo's two wars up to 2003 out of the country in South Africa. He was critical of the post-war transitional government and though he returned to Kinshasa before the 2006 poll he boycotted it, alleging flaws.
He can lay claim to genuine democratic credentials, having been arrested several times in the 1980s under Mobutu, and setting up Congo's first opposition party in 1982. He did little to water down his reputation as a firebrand when he asserted during this year's campaign that he was already the real president. For many Congolese he embodies the struggle against corrupt and predatory government in Kinshasa.
His support will be strong in his native Kasai provinces and he also has a firm following in Kinshasa -- though it is not clear if he can still draw tens of thousands to the streets as he did in anti-Mobutu protests. He recently sought treatment in Belgium for an unspecified medical condition but his campaign insists he is in good shape now.
VITAL KAMERHE
A former minister in Kabila's government and one of the architects of his 2006 election campaign, Kamerhe has provided the opposition with new impetus. He is widely seen as having run the most professional campaign against Kabila this time.
Kamerhe, who comes from the eastern province of South Kivu, served as president of the National Assembly after the last vote. However, he fell out with Kabila's camp when he questioned his move to invite ex-foe Rwanda on joint military operations against Rwandan Hutu rebels without parliamentary approval.
Some analysts say his ambition and growing popularity, even in the West of the country where Kabila struggled to win over voters, may have hastened his exit from the president's camp. Kamerhe is likely to fare well in his native east, where he is well known and where many accuse Kabila of failing to deliver on promises of peace. But his party's appeal elsewhere in Congo is as yet untested.
LEON KENGO WA DONDO
Another political veteran, 76-year-old Kengo Wa Dondo is from northern Equateur province and served several times as the country's prime minister during the Mobutu era. A member of Mobutu's inner circle, Kengo Wa Dondo was nonetheless credited by some for having put reliable technocrats in key positions and having embraced attempts at economic reform. After Mobutu's fall, Kengo Wa Dondo spent nine years in exile in Europe.
During the last election, Kengo Wa Dondo supported former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is also from Equateur and was defeated by Kabila in an election run-off. He is currently head of the Senate, having defeated a pro-Kabila candidate in a vote for the position in 2007. He is seen by many educated Congolese as the country's most capable political operator, but unlike his rivals he does not have a grass-roots power base. He may feature in post-election alliance negotiations.
JEAN-PIERRE BEMBA
The elephant in the room, former rebel leader and war crimes indictee Bemba is notable for his absence from Monday's election. A close runner-up to Kabila in 2006, he was arrested in 2008 in Belgium on an International Criminal Court warrant for alleged crimes committed by his rebels in neighbouring Central African Republic in 2002. Bemba's MLC party is the biggest opposition group in parliament and he retains strong popular support across the country. In a letter written from his prison cell in The Hague, Bemba this week made a last-minute bid to shape the outcome of the vote by urging the opposition to unite behind a single candidate to defeat Kabila. But the impact of the call is hard to predict as he refused to give exclusive support to one specific candidate. (Writing by David Lewis and Mark John; editing by Peter Graff)
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