Luluabourg Constitution

The Luluabourg Constitution (French: Constitution de Luluabourg) was the second constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Functional from 1 August 1964 until November 1965, it was meant to replace the basic law (Loi Fondamentale) that had been provisionally enacted when independence was declared in 1960. Unlike its predecessor, the Luluabourg Constitution featured a strong executive presidency and carefully delineated federalism between the central government and the provinces. It also formalized the adoption of the name "Democratic Republic of the Congo", succeeding the name "Republic of the Congo".

It was decided at the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference of 1960 that the resolutions the participants adopted would serve as the basis for the Loi Fondamentale (Fundamental Law), a temporary draft constitution left for the Congo until a permanent one could be promulgated by a Congolese parliament within a few years of independence.^[1][2] The constitution stipulated a division of executive power between a presumably symbolic head of state and a head of government. As in a parliamentary system, executive power was to be exercised by a prime minister and a cabinet responsible to Parliament. If the cabinet lost the confidence of Parliament, a motion of censure would be passed and it would be dismissed. By comparison, the head of state (a president) was irresponsible to Parliament and only had the power to ratify treaties, promulgate laws, and nominate high-ranking officials (including the prime minister and the cabinet). In Belgium, parliamentary tradition had rendered these duties inconsequential in the face of the premier's influence. In the Congo, no such convention had been established.^[3] A parliament was to be composed of a lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, and an upper chamber, the Senate.^[3]

The constitution delineated the authority of the central and provincial governments.^[4] Among the central government's duties and responsibilities were foreign affairs, national defence, domestic security, customs and currency, communications, major public works, higher education, national judiciary, and economic planning. In areas where the provincial and central governments took contradictory stances, the central government's positions took precedence. The division of authority, a compromise between the federalist and unitarianist politicians, was dubbed by Belgian lawyers as "quasi-federalism".^[5] A state commissioner would be appointed by the head of state with the consent of the Senate to represent the central government in each province. Their main duties were to "administer state services" and "assure coordination of provincial and central institutions."^[4]

The Loi Fondamentale proved a complicated and cumbersome document for the politically inexperienced Congolese.^[4] On 5 July 1960, five days after independence, the Congolese army mutinied, plunging the country into crisis.^[6] National political opinion quickly turned against the constitution, with some national figures, such as Joseph Iléo, attributing the national crisis to flawed institutional arrangements.^[7]

On 27 November 1963, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu announced the formation of a new "Constitutional Commission".^[8] The commission convened on 10 January 1964 in Luluabourg, with Marcel Lihau serving as its secretary. A draft was completed by 11 April, but its presentation to the public was delayed as Kasa-Vubu's government and the commission debated over which entity held the prerogative to make revisions. Kasa-Vubu eventually yielded and the constitution was submitted for ratification to the Congolese electorate at the end of June. The "Luluabourg Constitution", as it became known, was adopted with 80 percent approval.^[9] The Luluabourg Constitution was mostly a compensation for what its authors perceived to be the shortfalls of the Loi Fondamentale. Its principal features were a centralized and strengthened executive and a punctilious separation of responsibilities between the central and provincial governments.^[9]

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Luluabourg Constitution

The constitution formally changed the name of the country from "Republic of the Congo" to "Democratic Republic of the Congo" and adopted a new national flag.^[10] It organised the country as 21 provinces with Léopoldville, the capital, as its own federal district.^[11]

Article 6 restricted Congolese nationality solely to persons whose ancestors were a part of an ethnic group that had lived in the Congo before 18 October 1908. This rule could be circumvented if a person submitted a formal request to change their nationality within 12 months of the promulgation of the constitution.^[12]

According to the constitution, the president "determines and directs the policy of the state" and "establishes the framework of government action, supervises its application, and informs Parliament of its development".^[9]

The president was to be selected by an electoral college composed of members of Parliament, members from every provincial assembly, and several delegates from the capital with the number of them being determined by how much representation they would be accorded to in Parliament based on population. The capital delegates and parliamentary delegates would meet in the capital to cast their vote, while the provincial assembly electors would do the same from their respective provincial capitals. All presidential candidates had to be at least 40 years of age. The president was to be chosen by the candidate with a simple majority. If this was not achieved on the first two ballots, then the candidate with a plurality on the third would become president.^[13]

The office of prime minister was retained, but its functions and responsibilities were largely reduced. The prime minister and all other cabinet ministers were to be named and revoked either individually or collectively by the president.^[9]

The Luluabourg Constitution denied citizenship to most Rwandan immigrants in the Congo.^[12] Marcel Bisukiro, a former government minister, criticised it as discriminatory.^[14] Following a coup on 24 November 1965, Colonel Joseph Mobutu became president of the country and the constitution was suspended.^[15] Under Mobutu, moves were made to institutionally centralise the country, including the elimination of multiple provinces. A new constitution was promulgated on 24 June 1967.^[16]