Luluabourg Constitution
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The Luluabourg Constitution () was the second constitution of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
. Functional from 1 August 1964 until November 1965, it was meant to replace the
basic law A basic law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law designed to have the effect of a constitution. The term ''basic law'' is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution" and may be inte ...
(''Loi Fondamentale'') that had been provisionally enacted when independence was declared in 1960. Unlike its predecessor, the Luluabourg Constitution featured a strong
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
presidency and carefully delineated
federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...
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 The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
".


Background


The Loi Fondamentale

It was decided at the
Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference The Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference () was a meeting organized in two partsJoseph Kamanda Kimona-Mbinga"La stabilité du Congo-Kinshasa: enjeux et perspectives"2004 in 1960 in Brussels (January 20 – February 20Réseau documentaire inter ...
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. 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 A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
, 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 A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...
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. A parliament was to be composed of a lower chamber, the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, and an upper chamber, the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The constitution delineated the authority of the central and provincial governments. 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". 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." The ''Loi Fondamentale'' proved a complicated and cumbersome document for the politically inexperienced Congolese. On 5 July 1960, five days after independence, the Congolese army mutinied, plunging the country into crisis. National political opinion quickly turned against the constitution, with some national figures, such as
Joseph Iléo Joseph Iléo (15 September 1921 – 19 September 1994), subsequently Authenticité (Zaire), Zairianised as Sombo Amba Iléo, was a Congolese politician and was prime minister for two periods. Early life Joseph Iléo was born on 15 Septembe ...
, attributing the national crisis to flawed institutional arrangements.


Constitutional drafting

On 27 November 1963, President
Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Republic of the Congo until 1964) from 1960 until 1965. A member of ...
announced the formation of a new "Constitutional Commission". The commission convened on 10 January 1964 in Luluabourg, with
Marcel Lihau Marcel Antoine Lihau or Ebua Libana la Molengo Lihau (29 September 1931 – 9April 1999) was a Congolese jurist, law professor and politician who served as the inaugural First President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Congo from 1968 un ...
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. 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.


Summary


National organisation

The constitution formally changed the name of the country from "
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
" to "Democratic Republic of the Congo" and adopted a new national flag. It organised the country as 21 provinces with Léopoldville, the capital, as its own federal district.


Nationality

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.


Presidency

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". The president was to be selected by an
electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
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.


Premiership

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.


Historical application

The Luluabourg Constitution denied citizenship to most Rwandan immigrants in the Congo. Marcel Bisukiro, a former government minister, criticised it as discriminatory. Following a coup on 24 November 1965, Colonel
Joseph Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
became president of the country and the constitution was suspended. 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.


Citations


References

* * * * * * {{Authority control 1964 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1965 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Defunct constitutions 1964 documents