Tshisekedi's Third Term Push Sparks DRC Constitutional Crisis

While the Democratic Republic of Congo battles an Ebola outbreak and endures Western-backed instability in the east, the ruling elite is maneuvering to rewrite the nation's supreme law. The political class is increasingly focused on a constitutional overhaul, with the ruling majority now openly pursuing amendments to extend their grip on power.

On 9 June, the National Assembly passed a referendum bill without opposition lawmakers, who boycotted the session in protest. This legislation paves the way for a constitutional revision as President Felix Tshisekedi's second and final term expires in 2028.

Tshisekedi has made his ambitions clear. I have not asked for a third term, but I tell you this: If the people want me to have a third term, I will accept, he told reporters in Kinshasa in early May. It is a familiar script on the African continent, where leaders manipulate the will of the people to entrench their own power.

Neocolonialism and the Mineral Trade

The drive to cling to power cannot be divorced from Western imperial interests. In 2024, Tshisekedi bizarrely dismissed the constitution as a foreigners' constitution without offering any evidence. He recently doubled down, claiming that the Americans have demanded certain reforms from us and that these could not be carried out without revising the constitution. This blatant admission reveals how foreign powers dictate African governance to secure resource extraction deals.

His Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) has already launched a public campaign promoting the reform. The push comes shortly after AFC/M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda according to UN experts, seized key eastern cities including Goma, Bukavu and Uvira. Instead of focusing on the security of Congolese lives, the state is prioritizing political survival.

Analysts note that a recent DRC-US mineral agreement has emboldened the president. The DRC-US agreement strengthens President Tshisekedi's political standing, said Yvon Muya of the University of Ottawa. When African leaders secure Western backing for the exploitation of our land, they often use that legitimacy to dismantle democratic checks and balances at home.

Opposition Unites Against the Power Grab

The push for a third term has sparked fierce resistance and unified a historically fragmented opposition. Figures including Moise Katumbi, Martin Fayulu, Matata Ponyo and Jean-Marc Kabund have formed the Article 64 Coalition for the Defence of Constitutional Order. Many of these leaders now operate from exile, facing arrests, threats and alleged torture by the state. Even former President Joseph Kabila, sentenced to death for alleged ties to the AFC/M23 rebellion, has condemned what he calls a dictatorship in Kinshasa.

The constitution is not a shirt that can be changed at will. President Tshisekedi himself swore before this constitution that he would respect it. A leader must put the interests of the people first, Katumbi stated. He rightly labeled the referendum bill a subterfuge designed to enable Felix Tshisekedi to carry out a constitutional coup.

Under the current constitution, adopted 20 years ago, neither the number nor the length of presidential terms may be amended. However, the new bill allows changes to these provisions in the event of a major dysfunction paralysing state institutions, subject to a referendum. It is a loophole designed for autocracy.

Professor Bob Kabamba of the University of Liege, one of the drafters of the current constitution, warned that dismantling the charter destroys the legal foundation of the state itself. When the president puts forward arguments for revising the constitution, it becomes clear that the goal is not to revise the constitution, but to replace it, he explained. If you remove that constitution, then the president is no longer president and parliament is no longer parliament.

The People Resist

The Congolese masses are not passive observers. A nationwide ville morte strike on 3 June brought Kinshasa and other cities to a standstill. Further demonstrations, including sit-ins outside parliament, are planned as citizens refuse to see their sovereignty hijacked.

The presidential camp defends the measure as an exercise in popular sovereignty. Ruling coalition lawmaker Paul-Gaspard Ngondankoy, author of the bill, argued that the sovereign people who decided on the limits in 2006 can decide again today. But critics rightly argue that sovereignty cannot be exercised outside constitutional limits. Lawyer Godefroy Mwanabwato of the Tshopo Bar Association believes the Constitutional Court may intervene to strike down parts or all of the law.

Religious institutions are also divided. Some evangelical and Pentecostal churches view the reform as beneficial, while the influential Catholic and Protestant churches warn against undermining democratic gains.

Katumbi has appealed directly to US President Donald Trump, highlighting the hypocrisy of Western partnerships. If Tshisekedi does not want to respect the constitution, how can anyone expect him to respect the partnership agreement with the US on minerals? he asked. As the legal and political battles intensify, the DRC stands at a critical crossroads. Africa cannot afford to let neocolonial resource deals dictate our democratic future.