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A spokesperson for the ruling party of Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has suggested Jean-Pierre Bemba may be ineligible to run for president after the ex-warlord said he would return to the country to stand as a candidate in December’s election.

Bemba “could fall within the ambit of article 10 of the electoral law” finding those who have convictions for corruption “ineligible,” Alain Atundu, spokesperson for the Presidential Majority,  said.

Atundu said he hoped that Bemba would “solemnly” commit to not running “if he is found to be ineligible under the electoral law”.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) last month overturned on appeal an initial 18-year term for war crimes and crimes against humanity for Bemba, a former vice president, finding he could not be held responsible for crimes committed by his troops.

But in March 2017 he was also convicted for bribing witnesses.

Earlier this month the ICC urged that he be given a five-year term on that count but no date has been fixed for a verdict.

This week Bemba said he would arrive in the capital Kinshasa on August 1 after his party, the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), announced he was filing his candidacy for the presidential election.

Bemba, a senator, is currently in Belgium and must give the ICC details of his whereabouts when required.

The government recently accorded him a diplomatic passport.

Kabila, who has ruled since 2001, has refused to spell out whether he will seek a new term in office in the crucial December 23 election.

Dozens of people have been killed in protests since late 2016, when Kabila was scheduled to stand down at the end of his second elected term, technically the last permitted under the constitution.

August 8 is the deadline for candidates to submit applications.

The DRC, a mineral rich country but one of Africa’s most volatile countries, has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960 — and some experts fear that the December election may trigger a bloody conflict.

Meanwhile, with only five months to go before elections in the DRC, the United States has urged President Joseph Kabila to quickly declare that he will not seek re-election.

The vote is to take place two years later than originally scheduled, and after dozens have died in protests against Kabila who has been in power since 2001.

Addressing the UN Security Council, US Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Cohen said “the time for posturing is over” and that Kabila must now make clear his intentions for the December 23 vote.

“We expect President Kabila to abide by the DRC constitution and the December 2016 agreement. He is not eligible under Congolese law to seek a third term,” Cohen said.

France and Britain have previously also called for him to clearly state that he will step aside and not run in the election.

Kabila had been expected to announce whether he planned to run in an address to parliament last week, but he kept the world guessing about his intentions.

On that same day, the Security Council issued a joint statement with the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to call for a “peaceful and democratic transfer of power” following the December vote.

The DRC has never known a peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

The United States renewed criticism of the DRC’s plan to use electronic voting in the polls, saying the voting machines could undermine the credibility of the elections.

The election commission “must take steps to ensure voters can cast their votes via a mechanism that is tested, trusted, and guarantees secrecy of the vote – namely paper ballots,” said Cohen.

The elections have come under intense scrutiny at the Security Council, which is planning to pay a visit to the DRC later this year, possibly in October.

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had planned to travel to Kinshasa along with African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki this month but that visit was postponed, at Kabila’s request.

Congolese Ambassador Ignace Gata Mavita urged world powers to support elections in his country “through positive actions” and complained of “interference from all sides”.

There are fears that the vast mineral-rich country could slide into all-out violence as it heads towards the elections. — AFP