DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has enacted a law that paves the way for constitutional change, condemned by the opposition as an attempt to cling onto power.
Announced in an order read on national television overnight Tuesday, the law eases the rules around holding a referendum on constitutional matters in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It comes two years ahead of the next scheduled elections, and with the reformed M23 armed group, now led by Tshisekedi's predecessor Joseph Kabila, vowing to "put an end to tyranny" -- by force if needed.
Tshisekedi, 63, has been in power since 2019 and under the current constitution has to step down at the end of his second five-year term at the end of 2028.
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Opposition parties have joined forces in recent months to stand against his attempt to change the constitution and open the way for him to run for a third term.
Tshisekedi declared at a rare news conference in early May that he had not planned to seek a third term but said: "If people want me to have a third term, I will accept."
Opposition demonstrations to protest against a "constitutional coup" were held in June and September in the capital, Kinshasa, and other cities.
Weakened and fragmented since Tshisekedi's landslide victory in the 2023 election, the opposition, which recently came together in a platform called C64, has struggled to bring large numbers of people out onto the streets.
Its rallies have often been marred by clashes and broken up by the security forces.
The United Nations said at least one person was killed during protests in Kinshasa in June, while the opposition said one of its supporters was killed in September.
The main opposition parties have rejected Tshisekedi's offer to hold a national dialogue.
This comes as much of the east of the vast central African country is torn apart by conflict, and the Rwanda-backed M23 group has seized large swathes of territory.
Last month, former president Joseph Kabila became head of the renamed eastern rebel movement, now called the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), which has replaced the AFC/M23.
Kabila has criticised what he called the government's "stubborn insistence" on changing the constitution.
He has vowed to "put an end to tyranny by any means, including force".
Eastern DRC, which is rich in valuable minerals coveted by world powers for industry, has been torn apart by conflict for more than 30 years.
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Since late 2021, the region, which borders Rwanda, has been plagued in particular by the resurgence of the M23, an anti-government group backed by Kigali and its army.
In a lightning offensive early last year, M23 fighters seized more territory, including Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces.
The front line has been relatively stable since then. Several mediation efforts are under way, but none has yet ended the fighting.
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Kabila, who ruled from 2001 to 2019, was sentenced to death in absentia just over a year ago for treason, over allegations that he colluded with the M23.
Kabila, 55, is also subject to US sanctions over financial and political support for the M23.
Diplomatic sources and observers have expressed fears that any political opposition could be equated with support for the ex-president's rebellion.
Opposition parties have sought to distance themselves from Kabila.
The C64 platform condemned "any seizure of power by force" as well as "any change to the constitution, any third term, any postponement of the elections scheduled for 2028".
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