DR Congo's Tshisekedi holds coalition talks with Kabila

DR Congo's recently elected president, Felix Tshisekedi, held talks on Sunday with his predecessor Joseph Kabila on forming a coalition government, a source in Kabila's entourage told AFP.

The talks would open the way to naming a prime minister who would form a coalition government to run the country, a member of Kabila's entourage, who asked not to be identified, said.

Kabila, although no longer president, is head of the majority group in the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The talks were confirmed by the Tshisekedi's office, which said the two men met at the president's residence and "even shared a meal in a family atmosphere".

According to provisional results, Kabila's supporters won 337 out of the parliament's 485 seats in the December 30 election, which took place on the same day as the disputed presidential vote that brought Tshisekedi to power.

Tshisekedi's own Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) only garnered 32 seats in the incoming National Assembly.

The prime minister's post, for the moment, remains vacant until the next government can be formed.

Tshisekedi's election marked DR Congo's first peaceful change of power since its independence from Belgium in 1960.

He took over from Kabila who had held the presidency for 18 years.

The talks on forming a coalition come after the runner-up in the presidential election last week proposed staging the poll again within six months.

In a letter to the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Martin Fayulu restated his allegation that the vote result had been rigged.