[JURIST] Denis Sassou Nguesso [official website], President of the Republic of the Congo, announced on Tuesday that he is moving forward with a national constitutional referendum, in what many call a ploy to extend his presidency. The referendum [DW report] will concern issues such as raising the maximum age for presidential candidates and eliminating the two-term limit for presidents. Sassou Nguesso has served as president of the Republic of the Congo for the past 31 years.

The extension of presidencies has been an issue in many African nations. Beginning in January, protests and demonstrations [JURIST report] took place across the Democratic Republic of the Congo to oppose the proposed changes in the law that would allow President Joseph Kabila to extend his presidential term past the allotted two-year limit. Protests broke out earlier this year in Burundi after President Pierre Nkunrunziza [BBC profile] announced he would run for a third term in office, and intensified [JURIST report] when a court said that he could run for a third term without violating the nation’s constitution.