# Congo leader clears path for third term

> President Felix Tshisekedi enacts a law easing referendum rules on constitutional change, two years before elections he is constitutionally barred from contesting.
- Title: Congo leader clears path for third term · RFI | Shortify
- Summary: President Felix Tshisekedi enacts a law easing referendum rules on constitutional change, two years before elections he is constitutionally barred from…
- Keywords: felix tshisekedi, dr congo, constitutional change, third term, joseph kabila, m23, opposition, c64 platform, RFI
- Source: RFI — https://rfi.fr/en/africa/20261112-dr-congo-leader-opens-way-for-third-term-under-new-constitution
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: felix tshisekedi, dr congo, constitutional change, third term, joseph kabila, m23, opposition, c64 platform, news, world
## Tshisekedi enacts constitutional law
DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi announced overnight Tuesday a law easing rules around holding a referendum on constitutional matters in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
## Current constitution bars third term
Tshisekedi, sixty-three, has been in power since two thousand nineteen. Under the current constitution he must step down at the end of his second five-year term at the end of twenty twenty-eight.
## Tshisekedi leaves door open
At a rare news conference in early May, Tshisekedi declared he had not planned to seek a third term but said: "If people want me to have a third term, I will accept."

> If people want me to have a third term, I will accept.
## Opposition unites against change
Opposition parties have joined forces in recent months to stand against his attempt to change the constitution. They recently came together in a platform called C64 to oppose a third term.
## Protests broken up by security
Opposition demonstrations protesting against a constitutional coup were held in June and September in Kinshasa and other cities. The United Nations said at least one person was killed in Kinshasa in June.
## Kabila threatens force
Former president Joseph Kabila, now leading the Rwanda-backed FRN armed group, has vowed to put an end to tyranny by any means, including force, criticising the government's constitutional change plans.

> put an end to tyranny by any means, including force
## C64 rejects all constitutional change
The C64 platform condemned any seizure of power by force, any change to the constitution, any third term, and any postponement of elections scheduled for twenty twenty-eight.
## Key takeaway

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has enacted a law easing referendum rules on constitutional change, allowing him to potentially run for a third term despite opposition condemnation.