Hundreds of protestors gathered in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, to oppose a government-proposed constitutional amendment that could allow President Felix Tshisekedi to stand for a third term following a referendum. The move comes from the top, through the machinery of the state, while people in the street are left to absorb the consequences of another round of political maneuvering over power.
Who Has the Power
The protests were organized by the C64 coalition. That detail matters. While the ruling-party-majority parliament approved a proposal to extend the presidential mandate, the opposition is calling on President Felix Tshisekedi to give up the proposed constitutional changes that could open the way for him to secure a third term. Elections are two years away, but tensions are already high between the government and its opponents. The state has already shown how it handles dissent. Authorities suppressed a July rally in Kinshasa against the constitutional amendment, and several opposition supporters were injured in clashes in which the UN said at least one person was killed.
The constitutional fight is not happening in a vacuum. Felix Tshisekedi was elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, and now the same political order is moving to rewrite the rules again. The referendum route gives the process a veneer of public consent, but the proposal itself has already been pushed through a parliament where the ruling party holds the majority. That’s the hierarchy at work: decisions made above, then sold back to everyone else as procedure.
What People Are Facing
The people in Kinshasa who gathered to protest are confronting more than a legal amendment. They’re facing a system that has already used force against earlier opposition. The July rally was suppressed, and the clashes that followed left several opposition supporters injured. The UN said at least one person was killed. Those are the costs of challenging power in a country where the state can decide which gatherings are allowed and which ones get crushed.
The opposition’s demand is direct. It is calling on President Felix Tshisekedi to give up the proposed constitutional changes. That demand lands against a backdrop of rising tension, not calm debate. Elections are two years away, but the political class is already rearranging the rules. The people outside the institutions are left to react after the fact.
What They're Calling Dialogue
In mid-July, Kinshasa announced the organization of a national dialogue long demanded by the opposition, without specifying its terms. That’s the kind of announcement that sounds like movement while saying very little. No terms. No clarity. Just another managed process from above, offered while the constitutional amendment remains on the table.
The country’s instability makes the whole spectacle even starker. Much of the Democratic Republic of Congo is riven by conflict, particularly in the east, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group seized swathes of territory last year. Yet the political class is still focused on extending presidential power. The state’s priorities are plain enough. The people living through conflict, repression, and uncertainty are expected to wait while the apparatus sorts out who gets to stay in office.
The protests in Kinshasa show that people aren’t simply accepting the script. The C64 coalition organized the gathering, and the opposition has kept pressure on Tshisekedi to abandon the constitutional changes. But the ruling-party-majority parliament has already approved the proposal, and the government has already shown it will suppress resistance when needed. That’s the shape of the fight: organized people on one side, institutional power on the other, and a referendum looming as the next stage in a process designed far above the streets where the consequences land.