An alliance of opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has announced a day of protests across the country for July 8 against a bill that, they claim, would pave the way for President Félix Tshisekedi to run for a third term, something currently vetoed by the Constitution.
The platform known as the Article 64 Coalition holds Tshisekedi responsible for preparing a violation of the Magna Carta and has urged citizens to join peaceful marches throughout the territory to demand his departure from power, in a context marked by the incidents recorded during last week's protests, as reported by the Congolese broadcaster Radio Okapi.
"The members of the Article 64 Coalition have raised the option of calling on the Congolese people from all provinces, territories, chiefdoms, and localities to participate in a large peaceful march on July 8," said Prince Epenge, spokesperson for the Lamuka party and one of the leaders of this opposition bloc.
Regarding the capital, Kinshasa, he specified that the mobilization will start at Mont-Ngaliema with the goal of "demanding Tshisekedi's resignation," whom he accuses of "betraying the nation," "trampling the Constitution," and promoting "a referendum with the aim of materializing a Balkanization of the country."
The opposition denounced on Friday the deaths of two people due to the actions of security forces during the latest protests and stated that three of its main leaders were injured in the demonstrations against a controversial referendum bill already validated by the National Assembly, which could open the door to a constitutional reform in two years, coinciding with the end of Tshisekedi's term.
In early May, Tshisekedi showed receptiveness to a scenario that would allow him to run for a third term through a constitutional revision and even a possible postponement of elections. "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 it," he stated at a press conference in Kinshasa.
The National Assembly gave the green light on June 9 to the bill regulating the organization of referendums, a central piece of any attempt at constitutional reform aimed at modifying the current limit of two presidential terms.
Tshisekedi, in office since 2019, had already raised in 2024 the possibility of revising the Constitution and advanced his intention to create a commission of experts to study it, which motivated new accusations from the opposition, which attributes to him the intention of introducing changes that would allow him to run again in elections.