Kinshasa, DR Congo – President Felix Tshisekedi is due to leave office in 2028 under the current Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Yet with more than two years to go, a battle over the rules governing what happens when his mandate ends is already reshaping Congolese politics.
In May, Tshisekedi said he had not sought a third term but would accept one if the Congolese people wanted him to continue. The remarks revived opposition fears that constitutional reform could eventually open a path beyond the existing two-term limit.
Under the current constitution, the president is elected for five years, renewable once, while the number and length of presidential terms are protected from constitutional revision.
Tshisekedi’s camp says the country needs institutional reform. Opponents of the reform fear the process could ultimately be used to change the rules governing presidential succession.
The dispute is unfolding as the DRC fights a rebellion in the east led by M23, an armed group that operates within the broader Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a political-military coalition that controls Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu.
With an opposition mobilisation planned for September and Tshisekedi preparing to outline an inclusive national dialogue, the confrontation is entering a critical phase.
The referendum battle
The confrontation accelerated in June when the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo passed legislation setting out conditions for organising a referendum.
The Constitutional Court ruled in July that the law complied with the constitution, while raising concerns about some of its provisions. On August 10, Tshisekedi formally asked the presidents of the National Assembly and Senate to reconsider the legislation in light of the court’s observations. The National Assembly said the fresh deliberation would be placed on the agenda for its September session.
The legislation provides for a constituent assembly followed by a referendum in the event of what it describes as a “major dysfunction” of state institutions.
Critics of the process say the mechanism could eventually be used to alter provisions that currently prevent Tshisekedi from seeking a third term. The government, meanwhile, has presented constitutional reform as a broader institutional issue rather than an explicit bid to extend the president’s tenure.
The main opposition group campaigning against the process is known as C64, or the Article 64 coalition. Its name refers to Article 64 of the DRC’s constitution, which calls on citizens to oppose anyone who takes power in violation of the constitutional order.
C64 says it will resist any attempt to use constitutional reform to extend Tshisekedi’s mandate beyond 2028. The coalition announced a nationwide mobilisation for September 15, with demonstrations in Kinshasa expected to converge on the Palais du Peuple, the seat of parliament.
Taking the fight to parliament
The dispute has already spilled onto the streets.
Thousands demonstrated in Goma and Bukavu on July 28 against proposed constitutional changes and any attempt to extend Tshisekedi’s time in office.
In Kinshasa, protesters are expected to converge on the Palais du Peuple.
For C64, the destination is deliberate: the coalition wants to take its protest to the institution at the centre of the constitutional process.
Jean-Marc Kabund, a Congolese opposition politician, told Al Jazeera that no constitutional revision, referendum or legal manoeuvre should be allowed to circumvent the current constitution.
He warned that this happening while the country is at war could deepen divisions and threaten national cohesion.
A constitutional fight during a war
The constitutional dispute is unfolding alongside a conflict that has transformed eastern Congo.
M23 and the AFC have seized large areas of territory, including Goma and Bukavu. The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of supporting M23, a charge that Kigali denies.
The war is also raising questions about the 2028 elections.
Tshisekedi has warned that elections may not be possible if the fighting continues, arguing that it would be difficult to organise a credible vote while parts of the country remain outside government control.
Emmanuel Bugama, a Congolese political analyst based in Bunia, told Al Jazeera that national interests should come before political disputes.
“The nation’s best interests should take precedence over these political squabbles,” he said.
The view from Goma
In Goma, the argument is being watched from a city no longer under Kinshasa’s control.
Gentil Mulume, a civil society activist in Goma, told Al Jazeera that any constitutional change extending Tshisekedi’s mandate would not be recognised in territory controlled by M23 and the AFC.
“If Tshisekedi dares to amend this constitution to extend his term of office, it will not be recognised here,” he said.
Mulume said the dispute was part of a deeper divide between Kinshasa and the east. He argued that continued Tshisekedi rule could be viewed there as a form of domination and that self-determination should be part of the political debate.
His comments illustrate how a constitutional confrontation in Kinshasa is being interpreted in territory already beyond the government’s effective control.
What do ordinary Congolese know?
There is also a more basic question: how much do ordinary citizens understand about the proposed changes?
Kevin Kalala, a 30-year-old mobile-credit retailer in Kinshasa, told Al Jazeera that he does not know enough about the constitution to take a position.
“We do not know what our constitution entails,” he said. “The Congolese state should start by teaching us about our constitution.”
Kalala said citizens should first be shown which provisions need changing, why they need changing, and what the benefits would be.
“I am neither for nor against amending the constitution,” he said.
An offer of dialogue
As tensions rise, Tshisekedi has proposed an inclusive national dialogue involving political parties, civil society and religious groups.
While in Libreville, Gabon, on August 16, he said he would soon address the nation to set out his vision and the contours of the talks. The date and format of the dialogue have yet to be announced.
Tshisekedi has ruled out sitting with people he accuses of siding with Rwanda or the armed rebellion.
Martin Fayulu, who challenged Tshisekedi in the 2018 presidential election, has called for former President Joseph Kabila and Corneille Nangaa, the political leader of the AFC, to participate.
For now, the constitutional dispute is running alongside the war in the east and the uncertainty over the 2028 elections.
The question is no longer only whether the constitution will change. It is whether Congo’s political forces can agree on the rules for what happens when Tshisekedi’s current mandate ends.
“We are certainly heading towards one of the most decisive periods in our recent history,” Bugama told Al Jazeera. “The country is under the control of an armed group, whilst the government in Kinshasa is posturing over constitutional reform instead of tackling what matters most.”
