Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has announced plans to form a national commission in 2025 to draft a new constitution, noting inefficiencies in the governmental structure and tensions among provincial authorities as motivations for the change. However, the announcement has raised opposition concerns over potential changes to extend the presidential term limit. Tshisekedi, who was re-elected in a contested December election, has criticized the current constitution multiple times in the past few months. He described the constitution as outdated and foreign-influenced. Tshisekedi’s “foreign influence” comment referenced the 2003 peace agreement, which ended Congo’s five-year civil war, signed in South Africa. However, opposition voices argue that the constitution was not imposed externally, given it was debated and adopted by the Congolese people in a 2006 referendum.
SOURCE: AP NEWS
