The three pioneers of elections in DR Congo

Three candidates dominate the squad of 21 candidates vying to become the next president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the second largest country in Africa.

Emmanuel Shadary, 58, is a loyal supporter of President Joseph Kabila and, according to some, his puppet if he wins Sunday's elections.

Kabila "would almost certainly remain the twine shooter behind the scenes," said Indigo Ellis of the company's Verisk Maplecroft risk badysis company.

"Shadary has no special qualities other than absolute loyalty" in Kabila, said an badyst at a Kinshasa-based political NGO. AFP under condition of anonymity.

Usually dressed in an elegant suit and tie, Shadary was Minister of the Interior during a period marked by a violent crackdown on protesters after Kabila had retained power beyond his tenure at the end of 2016.

He and 13 other officials were beaten with EU sanctions for rights violations. In retaliation, the DRC has asked Europe to withdraw its envoy from Kinshasa on polling day.

Shadary initially entered politics as a member of the UDPS, the oldest and most important opposition party in DR Congo.

In 1997, after the fall of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, he was elected vice governor of Maniema province and became governor a year later.

After Kabila took power in 2001 after the badbadination of his father, Shadary helped found a Popular Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) a year later. He is now the permanent secretary.

Shadary speaks Swahili and Lingala, the two languages ​​used in the east and west of the DRC respectively. He is a devout Catholic, with eight children.

Felix Tshisekedi, 55, hopes that the elections will give him the presidential prize that eluded his father, Etienne, founder of the Dominican opposition party of the DRC, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress ( UDPS), in 1982.

Tshisekedi junior took the reins of the party after the death of his father in February 2017.

Nicknamed "Fatshi" by his friends, he earned a Belgian degree in marketing and communication and rose through the ranks of the party.

But he has never held high office or experience in management and is hindered by his father's lack of charisma.

"Stephen was stubborn and proud," said one observer of the country's opposition.

"(But) Felix is ​​more diplomatic, more conciliatory, more willing to listen to others."

On November 11, Mr. Tshisekedi joined forces with six other opposition leaders to join a single candidate for the unit, Martin Fayulu, to confront Shadary.

But the case was rejected by the party's base.

Tshisekedi and his opposition leader, Vital Kamerhe, quickly abandoned the deal and embarked on a common ticket, weakening and effectively dividing the opposition.

Father of five children, he frequents the same Pentecostal church in Kinshasa as Fayulu.

Martin Fayulu, 62, is an outsider who has reached the leading rank in the last weeks before the elections.

Fayulu became famous two years ago as a staunch critic of Kabila's efforts to cling to power.

Often seen in front of protest marches, he was arrested several times and was even hit in the head by a rubber bullet.

Although his party's Commitment to Citizenship and Development holds only three seats in parliament, Fayulu was put in the limelight last month when it was designated as the consensus choice of supporters of the party. Opposition meeting in Geneva.

Two days later, the agreement collapsed when Felix Tshisekedi, bowing to the pressure of the base, decided to pursue his own candidacy.

Fayulu traveled the country tirelessly to make his speech. He is also backed behind the scenes by two heavyweights of politics – ex-warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba and businessman Moise Katumbi, a former governor of exile province, both of whom were prevented from running.

Fayulu studied in France and the United States. He then took office in 1984 with the American oil group Exxon Mobil.

He stayed with the oil giant for nearly two decades, working in Africa and eventually reaching the rank of general manager.

When he is elected, he is committed to investing $ 126 billion in the economy and creating 20 million jobs over five years.

Fayulu, who speaks Lingala, has a hotel in Kinshasa between Kabila's residence and the president's office.