DAKAR, Senegal — Congo’s opposition forces are pushing back hard against a newly passed bill that critics say is designed to keep President Félix Tshisekedi in power beyond his current term limits.
The Senate approved the measure on Monday, following an earlier vote in the National Assembly. The bill now sits on President Tshisekedi’s desk awaiting his signature. If signed into law, it would create a path for a national referendum on a new constitution — one under which Tshisekedi’s past terms in office would not be counted, essentially starting his term clock over from scratch.
Tshisekedi, who is 62 years old, has held the presidency since 2019. He has publicly stated his intention to pursue a third term, but only if voters give their approval through a referendum. As of now, no date for such a vote has been announced.
Congo’s current constitution explicitly prohibits any changes to presidential term limits. The new bill gets around that restriction by allowing the president to amend the constitution if a “major dysfunction” is determined to be paralyzing the country’s governmental institutions.
The central African nation is currently grappling with a number of serious crises, including an active Ebola outbreak and an intensifying conflict with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group — just one of more than 100 armed factions fighting for dominance in the country’s eastern provinces.
Congo’s next presidential election is scheduled for 2028. Tshisekedi stated last month that the country will not be in a position to organize or hold elections until the ongoing conflict is resolved and stability is restored.
Notably, both the Senate and National Assembly votes were conducted without opposition lawmakers present. Those legislators had walked out weeks earlier as a form of protest against the legislation.
Senate President Jean-Michel Sama Lukondé praised the outcome of the vote, saying it gives the Congolese people a structure through which to “exercise their sovereignty” via a referendum.
Congo’s major opposition parties, which have been at odds with one another in recent years, united in May under a coalition known as C64, or Coalition Article 64, specifically to fight the bill. The coalition has characterized the legislation as Tshisekedi’s attempt to hold onto power indefinitely.
Prominent opposition figure Martin Fayulu made his position clear during a coalition news conference on Tuesday. “Tshisekedi has betrayed his oath to respect the constitution and is therefore worthless,” Fayulu declared.
Fayulu also announced that the coalition plans to march to the presidential palace on July 8, calling for Tshisekedi’s resignation.
The legislative votes came just days after violent confrontations broke out at a protest against the bill in Congo’s capital city of Kinshasa. Several people were injured in those clashes, among them opposition leaders Martin Fayulu, Jean-Marc Kabund, and Delly Sesanga.
