The European Union is set to renew sanctions on senior officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, the presidential candidate backed by current President Joseph Kabila.
Sources in the capital, Kinshasa, have told BBC News that sanctions on Mr Shadary and 15 other Congolese nationals are set to be renewed on 12 December, just a few days before long-awaited elections in the country.
Mr Shadary is a former interior minister who oversaw security forces during a crackdown from 2016 to 2017 in Kinshasa, where a number of demonstrators were killed.
Sanctions were initially imposed on him for his alleged role in the crackdown.
After some hesitance from Mediterranean countries to renew EU sanctions, sources now say that all 28 member states are unanimous on the decision to renew sanctions that include travel bans and asset freezes.
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