Overview
- Tshisekedi, speaking Wednesday in Kinshasa, said he would accept a third term only if voters back constitutional change in a referendum.
- He warned the 2028 election could be delayed if fighting in the east stops voting in North Kivu and South Kivu, two populous, mineral‑rich provinces central to the vote’s legitimacy and logistics.
- Under Congo’s 2006 charter, presidents are limited to two terms, and amendments go to a referendum unless three‑fifths of Parliament approve them, a threshold the pro‑presidential Union sacrée could reach.
- He said justice reforms sought by the United States under a recent partnership would require revising the constitution, while insisting he does not seek to cling to power.
- He linked the threat to the vote to the M23 rebellion, which he says is backed by Rwanda, as opposition parties accused him of plotting to extend his rule in a pattern regional media note is common in Central Africa.