A constitutional referendum was held in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) between 25 June and 10 July 1964. The new constitution, known as the "

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'') ...

", changed the country's system of government, its name, and the number of provinces. It was approved by 91% of voters.

Background

Following the Congo Crisis, negotiations between politicians resulted in the drafting of a new constitution. The new document created a

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

of government in place of the previous

semi-presidential system A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

, where both the Prime Minister and President had certain powers. It also made the country more federalist, and increased the number of provinces from six to 21.DRC: Background to the 1965 election
EISA The country was renamed the "Democratic Republic of Congo" (having been officially the "Republic of Congo" since independence in 1960, a name shared by its neighbour)

Results

Aftermath

When the constitution came into effect, the parliament elected in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

was automatically dissolved, and the President, Joseph Kasa-Vubu, appointed a transitional government, whose role was to organise elections within nine months. In June 1964 Kasavubu appointed Moise Tshombe, who had led the Katanga breakaway, as the interim Prime Minister. After Tshombe's government announced that elections would be held by 30 March 1965, some politicians claimed they could not be held until peace talks with the remaining rebel factions had been held. However, the elections went ahead as planned between 18 March and 30 April.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) constitutional referendum, 1964

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

1964 referendums 1964 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Constitutional referendums in the Republic of the Congo