DRC: National Assembly adopts law on organizing referendums

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s National Assembly adopted a bill on October 23 setting the conditions for organizing a referendum. President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi had returned the text to Parliament for reconsideration following observations by the Constitutional Court; it must still be reviewed by the Senate in a second reading. The bill provides for the Constitution to be amended or replaced through a referendum. Tshisekedi said any potential constitutional reform would not be intended to keep him in power, while the bill has renewed debate over the future of the 2006 Constitution.