The Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition has condemned a new law enacted by President Félix Tshisekedi that opens the door to constitutional changes, accusing him of seeking to extend his hold on power.
“He openly declares that he wants to stay in power until someone strong enough can drive him out,” said Jean-Baptiste Kasekwa, an opposition politician and member of the C64 coalition, which brings together the country’s main opposition parties.
DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi enacted a law that paves the way for constitutional change, condemned by the opposition as an attempt to cling to power.
The law, announced in an order read on national television overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, eases the rules around holding a referendum on constitutional matters in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It comes two years ahead of the next scheduled elections, and with the reformed M23 armed group, now led by Tshisekedi’s predecessor Joseph Kabila, vowing to “put an end to tyranny” — by force if needed.
Tshisekedi has previously said he would accept a third term if voters wanted him to run again.
The opposition has vowed to resist any constitutional change, while former president Joseph Kabila and his armed movement have threatened to end what they call “tyranny”, by force if necessary.
“I think this is an announcement or a decision that does not help to ease tensions. On the contrary, it adds fuel to the fire of the government’s critics: the opposition and civil society groups who are challenging the plans to change the constitution. They will now have an argument to say, “Look, this is no longer just an intention, the current government really wants to cling to power.” That is why those in power are using other tools so that, at the right moment, they can bring out the referendum project and brandish it,” said Tresor Kibangula, a researcher at the Congolese institute Ebutel.
Tshisekedi, 63, has been in power since 2019 and under the current constitution has to step down at the end of his second five-year term at the end of 2028.
Opposition parties have joined forces in recent months to stand against his attempt to change the constitution and open the way for him to run for a third term.
Tshisekedi declared at a rare news conference in early May that he had not planned to seek a third term but said: “If people want me to have a third term, I will accept.”
The law that was enacted aims to “grant an unlimited number of terms” by unlocking certain articles of the constitution, Jean-Baptiste Kasekwa, a member of the newly formed C64 coalition bringing together the main opposition parties, told AFP.
Tshisekedi “openly declares that he wants to remain in power until someone strong enough can drive him out,” he added.
Opposition demonstrations against a “constitutional coup” were held in June and September in the capital, Kinshasa, and other cities.
Weakened and fragmented after Tshisekedi’s landslide victory in the 2023 election, the opposition has however struggled to rally large numbers of people in the streets.
The United Nations said at least one person had been killed at the protests in June in Kinshasa, while the opposition said one of its supporters was killed in September.
Tshisekedi’s offer to hold national dialogue has been rejected by the main opposition parties.
– ‘End to tyranny’ –
It comes with much of the eastern part of the vast central African country riven by conflict, where the Rwanda-backed M23 group has seized swathes of territory.
Ex-president Kabila last month became head of the now-renamed eastern rebellion, the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), which has taken over from the M23 movement.
Kabila has criticised what he called the government’s “stubborn insistence” on changing the constitution.
He has vowed to “put an end to tyranny by all means, including force”.
The eastern DRC — rich in valuable minerals coveted by world powers for industry — has been torn apart by conflict for more than 30 years.
Bordering Rwanda, the region has been particularly plagued by a resurgence of the anti-government M23, backed by Kigali and its army, since late 2021.
M23 fighters seized more territory, including the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu, early last year after a lightning offensive.
The front line has been relatively stable since then, with several efforts to mediate peace under way, although none has ended the fighting so far.
Kabila, who ruled from 2001 to 2019, was sentenced to death in absentia just over a year ago for treason on the grounds that he colluded with the M23.
The 55-year-old is also subject to US sanctions over financial and political support for the M23.
Diplomatic sources and observers have expressed fears that any political opposition could be equated with support for the ex-president’s rebellion.
Opposition parties have sought to distance themselves from Kabila.
The C64 platform condemned “any seizure of power by force” as well as “any change to the constitution, any third term, any postponement of the elections scheduled for 2028”.
But “in today’s security context, it is difficult to envision holding elections in 2028,” said Tresor Kibangula, a researcher at the Congolese institute Ebuteli.
By enacting the law, Tshisekedi “grants himself additional room for manoeuvre among the options he already has on the table to stay in power,” said Kibangula, even if it means “adding a bit of fuel to the fire” for his detractors.
