DRC opposition warns Tshisekedi’s referendum law threatens term‑limit firewall
Congo’s opposition parties are vowing to resist a new law from President Félix Tshisekedi that makes it easier to call constitutional referendums, warning it could be used to lift presidential term limits after 2028. The move puts the Democratic Republic of Congo back into the familiar regional struggle over leaders rewriting rules to stay in power.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s political opposition is bracing for a constitutional fight after President Félix Tshisekedi enacted a law that lowers the barriers to holding national referendums, a move critics see as preparation to weaken or remove term limits.
The law, announced this week in an order read on national television, revises how the country can organize referendums on changes to its constitution. Opposition leaders quickly condemned the measure, arguing that loosening the rules hands the presidency a tool to reshape the basic law in his favor and keep Tshisekedi in office beyond the current 2028 end of his mandate.
Tshisekedi has not publicly said he intends to alter term limits, and his government can point to the legal formality of going through parliament and official publication. But opposition parties read the timing and substance as a warning sign. The president secured a second term in a disputed election and now presides over a fractured, often insecure country where control of the political rules can matter as much as control of territory.
For Congolese citizens, many of whom have lived through constitutional rewrites under previous leaders, the concern is practical: term limits are one of the few remaining checks on leaders in a system where state institutions are weak, armed groups contest authority across large regions, and everyday life is shaped by economic fragility and security deficits. When that safeguard looks negotiable, the horizon of political change pushes further away.
Civil society groups and church networks, which played a prominent role in pushing back against earlier efforts to tinker with electoral laws, now face a new test. Organizing against a referendum law is harder than rallying against a clear attempt to scrap term limits outright, yet activists argue the outcome may be the same if the government can frame any later vote as a popular choice rather than an elite maneuver.
Regionally, Congo is moving along a path seen in several African states where presidents used legal reforms and referendum campaigns to extend their tenure. From Central to East Africa, leaders have argued that stability or unfinished reforms justify adjusting constitutions. In practice, these moves often concentrate power, discredit electoral processes and deepen mistrust between governments and opposition.
Strategically, the new law also shapes how international partners will see Kinshasa. Western governments and financial institutions have treated Tshisekedi as a more cooperative counterpart than some of his predecessors, especially on security cooperation and mining governance. If the presidency appears to be preparing a legal route around term limits, it could complicate that engagement and add political‑risk premiums to investment decisions in Congo’s critical cobalt and copper sectors.
The opposition’s promise to "resist" the changes raises the prospect of street protests in a country where demonstrations can quickly meet a heavy-handed security response. That dynamic matters for ordinary city dwellers, who risk getting caught between riot police and political mobilization while struggling with inflation and unemployment.
The key signals to watch now will be whether Tshisekedi or his allies begin openly discussing constitutional amendments related to the presidency; how the powerful Catholic Church hierarchy responds to the referendum law; and whether security forces allow opposition rallies to proceed. The first draft text of any concrete constitutional changes will turn abstract fears into a measurable test of how far Congo’s democratic safeguards can bend before they break.
Sources
- OSINT