On 11 November 2018, he was chosen by seven opposition leaders to be their joint presidential candidate in the 2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election.

[1][2][3] Born in Kinshasa, then Léopoldville, Martin Fayulu is a former ExxonMobil executive, having worked with the oil company from 1984 until 2003.

His involvement in politics began in 1991 when he attended the Sovereign National Conference, which brought together delegates from different regions and organizations to campaign for a multi-party democracy.

Mobutu Sese Seko, the totalitarian President of Zaire (as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was then called), allowed the conference to take place but rejected its conclusions.

[9] In late July 2019, he met in Lubumbashi with members of the opposition, including former Katanga Province governor Moïse Katumbi, former Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito, and a representative of former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba.