KINSHASA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Denis Mukwege, gynecologist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner, officially declared on Monday his candidacy for the presidential election scheduled for Dec. 20.
"The right moment is now. My only motivation is to save our homeland, to develop our country. We are with the people. We cannot wait to react. I am going there now," he said when addressing a large crowd of sympathizers gathered in the capital Kinshasa, stressing his urge to save his country.
Mukwege treated hundreds of war rape victims through the Panzi Foundation he founded in 1999 in the conflict-ravaged eastern DRC. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his nearly two-decade fight against sexual violence.
He will vie with outgoing President Felix Tshisekedi, while opposition leader Martin Fayulu, who came second behind Tshisekedi in the 2018 election, also announced his candidacy over the weekend. ■
