Legal provisions for mandatory referendums at national level

Constitutionof the Democratic Republic of Congo (Adoptedin 2006, last amended in 20/01/2011)

(Official English translation)

Article 2 (MandatoryReferendum)

[…] Kinshasa is the capital of the country and the seat of the national institutions. It has the status of a Province. The capital may not be transferred to another place in the country except by referendum.

Article 214 (MandatoryReferendum)

[…] No transfer, exchange or addition of territory is valid without the approval of the Congolese people consulted by way of referendum.

Article 218 (Mandatoryreferendum)

The right to initiate arevision of the Constitution belongs concurrently to:

a) the President of the Republic;

b) the Government after deliberation by the Council of Ministers;

c) to either of the Chambers of Parliament upon initiative by half of its members;

d) to a fraction of the Congolese people, in the present case to 100.000 persons expressing themselves by way of petition addressed to either of the two Chambers.

Each of these initiatives is submitted to the National Assembly and the Senate which decide by absolute majority of each chamber on the substance of the project, proposal or petitionfor revision.

The revision is only final ifthe project, proposal or petition is approved by referendum.

However, the project, proposition or petition is not submitted to referendum if the National Assemblyand the Senate meeting jointly as Congress approve it by a three-fifths majority of their members.