On Thursday, August 13, amidst escalating tensions with the Coalition Article 64 (C64), a significant opposition alliance formed in May by leading political forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), President Félix Tshisekedi requested Parliament to reconsider legislation outlining the terms for a constitutional reform referendum.

The C64 views this proposed bill, championed by the presidential party since 2024, as a mechanism designed to enable President Tshisekedi to pursue a third term, a move explicitly prohibited by the 2006 Constitution.

In Kinshasa on Wednesday, August 12, Dieudonné Bolengetenge, Secretary-General of Moïse Katumbi’s Ensemble pour la République party and spokesperson for C64, issued a stern warning. He stated that the coalition would cease to entertain advice and would instead galvanize public mobilization if the President failed to initiate a national dialogue.

The coalition had set Saturday, August 15, as a deadline to assess progress in the political dialogue initiated by the President. They simultaneously urged the populace towards “mobilization and resistance” should the proposed referendum law, currently under parliamentary review, not be withdrawn.

A small step in the right direction

While President Tshisekedi’s concession does not entirely meet the coalition’s demands, prompting them to “maintain” their pressure, it nonetheless signifies “a small step in the right direction,” according to Prince Epenge, co-founder of C64.

A march planned by C64 in Kinshasa, initially scheduled for July 22, was postponed following interventions from the Catholic and Protestant Churches of Congo. These religious bodies had urged political stakeholders to prioritize dialogue.

In addition to C64, sixty-five Congolese civil society organizations submitted a memorandum to the head of state and key national institutions on Monday, August 10. They implored Félix Tshisekedi to abandon his proposed constitutional reform referendum, arguing that “such an initiative would risk exacerbating political tensions, deepening social divides, and diverting national institutions from the nation’s true priorities.”