On August 13, as tensions escalated with the Coalition Article 64 (C64)—a coalition formed in May by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) leading opposition parties—President Félix Tshisekedi requested parliamentary reconsideration of the draft law outlining conditions for a constitutional referendum, a proposal spearheaded by his party since 2024.
The opposition coalition argues this initiative is a calculated move to enable Tshisekedi’s bid for a third term, a prospect explicitly barred by the 2006 Constitution.
Just a day earlier in Kinshasa, Dieudonné Bolengetenge, Secretary-General of Moïse Katumbi’s Ensemble pour la République and C64 spokesperson, issued a stern warning: the coalition would no longer heed calls for restraint but would instead escalate mobilizations unless the president took decisive steps toward national dialogue.
C64 had designated August 15 as a pivotal date to assess progress in political negotiations initiated by the president. The coalition also urged citizens to prepare for “mobilization and resistance” if the ongoing parliamentary review of the referendum draft law was not immediately halted.
Reluctant concession sparks cautious optimism
While President Tshisekedi’s latest move falls short of the coalition’s demands, it has been described as “a small step in the right direction” by Prince Epenge, C64 co-founder. The concession came after C64 had initially planned a major march in Kinshasa on July 22, which was postponed following appeals from Catholic and Protestant churches in the DRC to prioritize dialogue over confrontation.
Beyond the political opposition, 65 civil society organizations in the DRC issued a joint memorandum on August 10, urging President Tshisekedi to abandon his constitutional reform referendum plans. In their view, such a move could “exacerbate political tensions, deepen social divisions, and divert national institutions from addressing the country’s core priorities.”
