DRC: referendum, new Constitution… Article 220 at the center of the standoff

The referendum law adopted by Parliament in June does not directly alter this limitation. It establishes the modalities for a popular consultation and provides for an exceptional procedure in the event of a major institutional malfunction.

Under the adopted provisions, a commission may be tasked with identifying provisions deemed inappropriate. A draft can then be reviewed by a constituent assembly, approved by a three-fifths majority, and subsequently submitted to voters.

The Constitutional Court declared the law compliant on July 28, albeit with several reservations. Félix Tshisekedi subsequently referred the text back to Parliament for further deliberation during the session that opened in September. No referendum on the terms has been convened.

Article 220 limits what an ordinary revision can modify.

The Constitution establishes a presidential term of five years, renewable only once. Article 220 explicitly protects the number and duration of terms from any constitutional revision, alongside other principles such as the republican form of the state and the independence of the judiciary.

Article 218 allows the president, the government, Parliament, or a petition signed by 100,000 citizens to initiate a revision. This can be approved by referendum or by Congress with a three-fifths majority, but this procedure remains subject to matters declared inviolable by Article 220.

The controversy centers on the procedure outlined for a new Constitution in the event of a major malfunction. Proponents of the text present it as a means to frame the exercise of popular sovereignty. Opposition leaders, however, argue that it could be used to circumvent the protections of Article 220.

The Court’s validation of the law does not alone resolve this issue. A law organizing a referendum can be compliant with the Constitution without automatically making all provisions protected by the current text subject to modification.

The 2028 timeline adds political weight to the debate.

Félix Tshisekedi’s second term ends in 2028. The Coalition Article 64, which includes forces linked to Martin Fayulu, Moïse Katumbi, and Delly Sesanga, has made the defense of term limits a key mobilization point.

Reuters reported several hundred protesters in Kinshasa on September 15, as well as mobilizations in other cities. Police dispersed some gatherings. Authorities contest the notion that the referendum law would constitute a modification of the terms in itself.

The debate is occurring alongside the national dialogue announced by the head of state and the security crisis in the east of the country. These two issues weigh on the political calendar without altering, at this stage, the provisions of Article 220.

The next legal step is the reexamination of the law by Parliament following the Constitutional Court’s reservations. As long as this new deliberation is not completed and the text promulgated, the exceptional procedure outlined by the law cannot be initiated.