DR Congo president clears hurdle to seek third term

Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi arrives for a meeting with France's President at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on February 25, 2026. [AFP]

The Democratic Republic of Congo's Senate passed a bill Monday on holding referendums in the country, a step that could enable President Felix Tshisekedi to change the constitution and seek a third term.

The Senate vote came three days after anti- and pro-Tshisekedi demonstrators clashed at a protest against the government's plans to change the constitution, which the opposition condemns as a bid by the president to cling to power.

In office since 2019, Tshisekedi comes to the end of his second -- and, under the current constitution, final -- five-year term in 2028.

However, the 63-year-old president said last month he would agree to lead the conflict-plagued country for a third term "if the people wish it" after a referendum on reforming the constitution.

The bill that passed the Senate, which cleared the lower house earlier this month, is a technical text on the organisation of referendums.

But it could pave the way for a push to remove the Congolese constitution's iron-clad two-term limit for presidents.

The bill now needs a green light from the Constitutional Court, then would go to Tshisekedi to sign.

The DRC, a vast, impoverished central African country, is battling a deadly Ebola outbreak and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in its eastern region.

Tshisekedi has consolidated power, and his coalition holds a large majority in parliament.

The main opposition parties came together last month in a coalition to oppose what they see as the president's attempt to cling to power.

Several opposition figures were wounded at Friday's protest, which erupted into skirmishes with government supporters and police, AFP journalists said.

No official toll was released, but local rights groups said two bodies had been recovered.