Allafrica.com is reporting that Prime Minister Gizenga of the Democratic Republic of Congo may be forced to resign.

Prime Minister Gizenga was appointed on 30 December 2006. He is the first prime minister under DRC’s new semi-presidential constitution. He is a member of the PALU party, which is in coalition with President Kabila’s PPRD party. There are 500 seats in the DRC parliament and there are a host of parties and independents. (See African Elections).

There is tension within Prime Minister Gizenga’s PALU party, which voted to expel one of its ministers in defiance of the prime minister. The minister who was expelled is close to Prime Minister Gizenga. This means that either the prime minister continues in office in a weak position or tries to take on the party. Names of prime ministerial successors have already started to circulate.