Constitution of Equatorial Guinea (1968)

The people of Equatorial Guinea, in the exercise of their right to self-determination, aware of their responsibility in History, determined to create a Lawful State in which individual and collective freedom will enjoy real guarantees and effectiveness, determined to join the community of independent States and the United Nations, and to maintain a close solidarity with the African peoples in accord with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, adopt the following CONSTITUTION

Chapter I – OF THE STATE AND ITS CITIZENS

 * Article 1.
 * The republic of Equatorial Guinea, composed of the provinces of Rio Muni and Fernando Poo, is a sovereign, indivisible, democratic and social State.
 * The province of Rio Muni comprises, in addition to the territory of this name, the islands of Corisco, Big Elobey and Little Elobey and adjacent islets.
 * The province of Fernando Poo comprises the island of this name, the island of Annobon and adjacent islets.
 * The Republic of Equatorial Guinea guarantees the independence, integrity and security of its territory and protects the autonomy of its provinces, in accord with what is decreed in this constitution.


 * Art. 2.
 * The national sovereignty belongs to the Guinean people, who exercise it in the form and within the limits of the Constitution.
 * The election of their representatives will be by universal suffrage.
 * The national sovereignty can also be directly exercised by means of a referendum.


 * Art. 3.
 * The Republic of Equatorial Guinea fosters the political,

economic and social development of its people and guarantees equality be fore the law as well as the juridical security of all its nationals, megardless of origin, race , sex or religion. The State recognizes and guarantees the rights and liberties of all human beings, as included in the Universal Declaration of the nights of Man , and proclaims its respect for the freedom of conscience and religion, association, assembly, speech , residence and domicile , and the right to ownership , education and decent working conditions. The State, likewise , fosters the development of Trade Unions and Cooperatives and assumes workers of the protection of their rights.

Art. 4. All acts of racial, ethnic or religious discrimination , or any attempts against the internal or external security of the State , or its territorial integrity , or the constitutional guarantees of the prov inces, or the individual or collective rights recognized by this Constitu tion, will be punished by the law.

Art. 5. All the nationals of Equatorial Guinea who have reached the age of majority are entitled to vote and are eligible under the condi tions specified by the law.

Art. 6. Che system governing nationality will be determined by an Institutional Law.

Art. 7 . The official language of the State is Spanish. The use of traditional languages will be respected.

Art. 8 . The capital of the State is the city of Santa Isabel.

Chapter II – OF THE PRESIDENCY
Art. 9. The President of Equatorial Guinea is elected by direct and secret universal suffrage, in a single National Electoral] College. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of the votes cast will be elected to the Presidency. Should none of the candidates obtain this absolute majority, a new election will be held between the two candi dates who obtained the greater number of votes. Cases involving a tie vote will likewise be decided by a new election. The President - elect will take possession of his high office before the expiration of a ten - day period following the proclamation of the elec toral results. The President of the Republic will serve a term of five years.

Art. 10 . Cases of physical om mental incapacity, as well as legal obstacles to the holding of the office of the Presidency of the Republic , will be announced by the Assembly, in line with a prior resolution adopted by a three - fourths majority of its members , after having had the case pre sented to them by the Council of the Republic and having obtained an opin ion from the Supreme Court in a plenary assembly. Both the report on the case as well as the opinion will each have to be given within the maximum period of fifteen days. The declaration of a legal obstacle can only be based on an inten tional violation of the Constitution, or on facts that can substantiate a charge of serious criminal responsibility. From the moment of the Assembly's denunciation until such time as the Supreme Court declares the existence of incapacity or a legal obsta cle, the President will not be able to use his powers to dissolve the Assembly.

Art. 11 . The President of the Republic will conduct national pol icy, and his authority will extend to all matters relating to the mainte nance of public order at the internal level and the security of the State at the external level, in accord with the Constitution and the laws, and consequently : a ) He represents Guinea at public events and in international rela tions . b ) Is Head of the Armed Forces. c ) Confers the honors and rewards of the State . d ) Promulgates the laws and guarantees their implementation. e ) Receives and accredits foreign Ambassadors . i ) Wields the right of granting pardons. 93

Art. 12 . The candidates to the Presidency must be nationals of Equatorial Guinea and be more than thirty years of age.

Art. 13 . The President of the Republic is the head of the Govern ment, and freely selects , appoints and dismisses the Ministers , who are the heads of their respective departments. At least one - third of the Ministers must be natives of each one of the provinces.

Art. 14 . The Vice - President will be a Minister appointed by the President from among the natives of a province other than the one of which he himself is a native. He will perform the duties assigned to him by the President of the Republic and will provisionally fulfill those of the Presidency in the case of a vacancy or the absence of the President. In the case of a vacancy caused by death, incapacity on a legal obstacle charged against the President, the acting President will call for new Presidential elections within thirty days, unless more than three years of the former President's term of office should have elapsed, in which case the acting President will continue to perform the duties pro visionally assumed , until the expiration of the said tern. À President who is chosen in accord with the provisions established in the foregoing paragraph will end his term of office on the same date on which that of the President he has replaced would have ended. In cases of the simultaneous or successive vacancies of both the Presidency and the Vice -Presidency, the president of the Assembly will assume the office of the Presidency of the Republic under the same condi tions outlined in the second paragraph of this Article.

Art. 15 . The decisions of the President of the Republic regarding the general policy of the State, legislative bills, the performance of regulatory powers , appointments to positions within the Administration of the State and , in general, those acts that must be invested with the form of a decree, with regard to the laws , will be adopted after prior delib eration by the Council of Ministers and being countersigned by the corre sponding official entrusted with its execution.

Chapter III – OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC
Art. 16. The Assembly of the Republic is composed of 35 Deputies , elected every five years by universal, direct and secret vote. All of the Deputies represent the Guinean people and must serve the nation and the common welfare.

Art. 17. The election of the Deputies and, in general, the elec toral system, will be regulated according to the following bases : 1 ) The elections called for in this constitution will be convoked and held before the end of the corresponding terms and during the periods established by the Electoral Law . The call will be issued by the President by means of a decree agreed upon by the Council of Ministers . 2 ) Rio Muni and Fernando Poo will constitute large electoral dis tricts. Annobon Island, as well as the group comprised of the islands of Corisco, Big Elobey and Little Elobey , will consti tute two separate districts. 3 ) The electoral district of Fernando Poo will elect 12 Deputies to the Assembly of the Republic . The electoral district of Rio Muni will elect 19 Deputies . That of Annobon Island will elect two Deputies. The district constituted by the islands of Corisco, Big Elobey and Little Elobey, will also elect two Deputies . The Deputies elected by each of these districts must be natives of the corresponding province . 4) with the objective of facilitating the representation of minori ties , the electoral system will ensure proportionality between the votes cast and the posts that niust be filled. 5 ) In the districts of Fernando Poo and Rio Muni the electoral system will be that of the proportional slate, with combination of candidates being prohibited . The distribution of the balance of the votes in each district will be undertaken according to a system based on the larger balance . In the district of inno bon and that of Corisco -Big Slobey - Little Elobey the electoral system will be based on a simple majority for the winning slate and the prohibition with regard to the combination of candi dates . 6 , The acceptance and admission of the electoral candidacies, the regularity of the elections and the centralization of the re suits will be guaranteed by an Electoral Comunission ,

Art. 18. No member of the Assembly will be subject to prosecution , detention, imprisonment or trial because of opinions he may express, or votes he may cast , during the performance of his duties. While the Assembly is in a period of sessions, no member of the same may be prosecuted or arrested on a criminal charge without the au thorization of the executive council of the Assembly, except in cases of flagrante delicto. Even when the Assembly is not in a period of sessions, no member of the same may be arrested without a prior authorization from the executive council of the said Assembly, except in cases of flagrante delicto or a sentence based on a firm verdict. The arrest of a member of the Assembly can be suspended whenever the latter body requires it.

Art. 19. The Assembly of the Republic will convene by law on the first working day after the passage of 15 days from the date of the proc lamation of the electoral results. The Assembly approves its own regula tions and elects its president and executive council at the beginning of each legislative term.

Art. 20 . The Assembly of the Republic meets in ordinary public sessions twice each year ; once in February and again in October, for a maximum of two months per each period of sessions. The Assembly may convene for an extraordinary session, to discuss a specific matter , at the request of the President of the Republic or at the petition of ten of its members.

Art. 21 . It is the function of the Assembly of the Republic to prepare the laws, discuss and approve the budget and control governmental action.

Art. 22 . In addition to those classified as such by this Consti tution, the following matters will be invested with the character of In stitutional Law : 1 ) the electoral system ; 2 ) development plans; 3 ) the local system his appears to refer to the " political system ") ; 4) enigration and invigration and the labor policy on employment.

Art. 23. The following will be matters of Law : 1 ) The individual and collective rights of the citizens ; 2 ) The civil status of all persons ; 3 ) The general principles of the administrative system and that of the function of the State, and the technical selection , respon sibilities and guarantees of the functionaries, ensuring the adequate participation of the provinces; 96 4 ) The general principles of National Defense ; 5 ) The determination of crimes and their punishment ; 6 ) The system of issuing currency, the national or international public debt and the banking system ; 7 ) Compulsory expropriation, the nationalization of business firms and the transfer of ownership Cor properties between the public and private sectors ; 8 ) The fundamental principles of civil, administrative, comunercial , social and criminal law ; 9 ) The incompatibilities of the high offices of the Republic. This matter will be regulated in accord with the general principle of incompatibility between the holders of the highest offices within the different organs that are described in this constitu tion this appears to mean that no one official may hold any two such offices

Art. 24. The financial system will be determined by an Institution al Law, according to the following norms : a ) The tax system will be the same for the whole country . The provinces will dispose of the resources assigned to them in the State budgets. The municipal governments will dispose of the funds assigned to them by the provinces and their own revenues obtained from local sources, taxes and special contributions, within the limits established by the Law on Local Governinent . b ) The Assembly of the Republic will biannually approve the ordi nary budgets covering revenues and expenditures and aid for development. The ordinary budget covering revenues and expenditures will be fi nanced by taxes, assessments , special imposts and local revenues. The budget covering aid for development will be financed by reve nues obtained from the sale of Public Debt Bonds, credit operations and international financing or foreign aid organizations. c ) The expenditures of the ordinary budget will be distributed in accord with the following criteria : 1 ) First, there will be considered the credits for expenditures within the jurisdiction of the State that are not susceptible to geographic attribution. 2 ) Second, there will be considered the credits for expenditures that, while within the jurisdiction of the State , will create a greater direct or indirect benefit to one of the provinces . 3 ) Third, there will be considered the global credits assigned to each of the provinces for expenditures that are exclusive ly within their jurisdiction. 97 4) The assignment of the credits forecast in the foregoing paragraphs, two and three, will be made in proportion to the revenues effectively collected by each province and , to this end, the organ that functions as the National Treasury De partment will decide the corresponding percentages for the two - year period prior to the October session of the Assembly , as described in Art . 32 , said percentages to be deduced from the execution of the last ordinary budget . These percentages will be applied to the biannual budget . 5 ) The provinces will not be able to grant themselves extraordi nary credits , supplementary credits or advance payments. When required by urgent and justified needs, the prov inces may request that the Government formulate the necessary legislative bill and present it to the National Assembly , which will bear in mind the order of priority and the dis tribution procedures that have been outlined. When these operations create an excess of expenditures by one province with regard to another, according to the es tablished criteria for the distribution of funds, this ex cess_will be compensated for in the next ordinary budget : [ sic ] d ) The expenditures of the budget covering aid for development will be distributed according to the economic criteria for the selection of in vestments, approved by the Institutional Law governing the Development Plan . The interests and amortization payments related to the Public Debt , credits , loans from international organizations and other financial opera tions, will be attributed to specific expenditures of the provinces in proportion to the volume of expenditures occurring in each of them.

Art. 25. Matters within the jurisdiction of the State that are not expressly exempted from the law by virtue of Articles 22 and 23, are of a regulatory character. The regulatory development of the laws that require such action , will require a prior report from the Council of the Republic.

Àrt. 26. The legislative initiative corresponds to the president of the republic, in the Council of Ministers , and to the Deputies.

imt. 27. The Deputies and the Government may propose amendments. The legal propositions and amendnents presented by the Deputies, and which represent a decrease in public revenues or an increase in expenditures of a similar nature , will not be submitted for consideration without authori. zation of the Government. 98 Neither will there be admitted any legal propositions or amend ments relating to matters that essentially affect the internal organiza tion of a province, unless it is presented by at least five Deputies who are natives of the affected province.

Art. 28 . If during the preparation of a law the Government and the Assembly should disagree on the admissibility of a bill, proposition or amendment, in connection with what has been anticipated in Articles 22, 23 , 24, 25 and 27 of this Constitution , the matter will be decided within a period of fifteen days by the Council of the Republic.

Ant 29. The bills and initiatives forthcoming from the Government will have priority in the Assembly's7 daily agenda.

Art. 30. Approval of a law will require a ma jority vote by the Deputies who are present at the time of the voting. Those laws which ac cording to the Constitution have the rank of institutional law will re quire a qualified majority of two - thirds plus one of the votes of all the members of the Assembly.

Art. 31 . Once a law is approved by the Assembly, its president will forward it to the President of the Republic so that he may promulgate it within a maximum period of thirty days. During the course of this period the President of the Republic, in a meeting of the Council of Min isters, may return the proposed law to the Assembly for new deliberations , after which it will be considered to have been approved if it should ob tain approval by a vote of two - thirds plus one of the Deputies in the Assembly.

Art. 32. The TI Government will biannually present to the Assembly of the Republic a bill covering the State's budget, and will deposit such bill with the secretariat of the said Assembly, at least forty days before the beginning of the October session. Its examination will have absolute priority over all other tasks of the Assembly, in order that the latter may reach a decision on the budget within a maximum period of thirty days. Should the Assembly not announce its decision after this period has lapsed, the Government may promulgate the matter by decree. Should the draft budget be rejected, the previous budget will be automatically ex tended by progressive monthly periods , until the new budget which the Government must submit within a period of three months -- is adopted by the Assembly. Should the Cove moment not present the draft budget, it is under stood that the previous budget will be extended by a period of three months.

rimt. 33. The Assembly's means of control over the Government are : a ) interpellation ; b ) questions submitted in writing ; c ) debates; d ) report ing comnissions; e ) motions to censure the Ministers.

Chapter IV – OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC
Art. 34. The president of the Republic may send messages to the assembly and direct them to the nation. The President must report to the Assembly of the Republic, at least once a year , on the basic directives governing the policy of his Government.

Art. 35. The Ministers of the Government have free access to the Assembly and may address its members in accord with regulations. The Assembly may request the presence of the Ministers in accord with the procedure outlined in wint. 33.

Art. 36. The terus of office of the President of the Republic and the Assembly will begin and end simultaneously. However, the President of the Republic will continue in office until the inauguration of his successor.

Art. 37. The President of the Republic, in a Council of Ministers , may pronounce the dissolution of the Assembly, but he must call for elections within a period of thirty days. In this case, it will be understood that there will also be elections for the office of President of the Republic.

irt. 38. when reasons of necessity require it, the President , once he has consulted the Council of the Republic, may request of the assembly the delegation of authority to regulate by decree- law during a specific period of time , matters that are temporarily exempted from the law. The provisions that are adopted by virtue of this authorization must be implemented in accord with said authorization, and may not in any case affect the institutional laws.

Art. 39. In exceptional circumstances, in which the normal func tioning of the institutions are threatened, the President of the Republic may suspend for a maximun period of fifteen days the individual and col lective guarantees described in this Constitution, regarding the right to freedom of speech , assembly and association. During the aforementioned period the Assembly will have the right to convene, so that the President of the Republic may inform its members of the suspension and explain the reasons for such action. An extension of the period of suspension, should the President consider it necessary , can only be granted by the Assembly.

Art. 40 . The Assembly of the Republic may censure one or more of the Ministers of the Government. The motion calling for censure must be presented by at least five members of the Assembly, and must be submitted to a vote within 48 hours after its presentation. To be adopted, such a motion must obtain a favorable vote of two - thirds plus one of the members of the Assembly of the Republic. The censure motion will be forwarded to the President so that he may take whatever measures he considers opportune. Should the aforemena tioned censume motion be reiterated after a period of six months has elapsed, by a three-fourths majority of the members of the Assembly , against the same member of members of the Government, there will be formu lated at the same time a petition to the President of the Republic, re questing that he replace the censured Ministers.

Chapter V – OF THE COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC
Art. 41. The Council of the Republic is composed of six members , whose term will last for four years and one of which will act as presi dent. These six counselors will be freely elected, on the basis of one half for each of the Provincial Councils, from among natives of each of the provinces and who do not serve either on their respective Provincial Councils or in the Assembly of the Republic. The president will be chosen by the counselors, and iſ after seven days of the Council's formation they have not been able to reach agreement on this point , the two counselors who have obtained the majority oë votes for the said presidency will alternately function in such capacity for one -year periods, beginning with the one who is oldest in age. Resolutions will be adopted on the basis of a majority vote. should this majority not be achieved after three successive votes it will be understood that the counselors have been unable to produce a favorable judgment, when such judgment is required to be of a binding nature. In other cases, a tie vote will be decided by the president's casting vote.

Art. 42 . Following are the duties of the Council of the republic : 1. To pass judgment, prior to their promulgation , on the consti tutionality of laws that are classified as Institutional. 2. To pass judgment, of a binding nature , on the constitutional legality of the regulatory development of the Institutional Laws. 3. To report on the legality of the regulatory development of the other laws. 4. To report on cases of incapacity or legal obstacles in the performance of the duties of President of the Republic. 5. To resolve questions of jurisdiction proposed under the terms of Art. 28 . 6. To decide the conflicts that might arise between the State and the provinces with regard to the jurisdictions attributed to them in Articles 43 and 44 of this constitution. 7. To propose to the President of the Republic, in groups of three , the names of persons who may be appointed as judges of the Supreme Court. 8. To advise the Government on whatever matters it may submit for counsel.

Chapter VI – OF THE JURISDICTIONS OF THE STATE AND THE PROVINCES
Art. 43. The State of Equatorial Guinea, through the organs de scribed in this Constitution and in the laws, has jurisdiction in the fol lowing matters : a ) International relations ; b ) the Armed Forces ; c ) the nationality and civil status of all persons ; d ) the protection and guarantee of the rights of the individual ; e ) private law, penal law, the prison system and that of extradi tion , labor law, criminal law, electoral law and the organiza tion of the administration of justice ; f ) national public domain ; g ) the currency, fiscal , banking and financial systems , and that of weights and measures , without prejudice to what is speci fied in this constitution on the distribution of fiscal reve nues ; h ) statistical research , the planning of national economic and social development, of health and education , of public works in the national interest, the exploitation of subsoil re sources and the coordination and implementation of industrial projects in the national interest ; i ) the general system governing the press, radio , television and the mail service , telecommunications and non - internal trans portation to each province ; j ) the Public Administration of the State , the organization of the personnel and services required for the aforementioned jurisdictions, and the granting of professional degrees ; k ) the right to grant pardons and the granting of honors and rewards ; 1 ) the supervision of the state services undertaken by the prov inces through delegation of the State's authority, in matters of the latteris jurisdiction ; m) and all of the jurisdictions inherent in the fulfillment of those previously listed.

unt. 44. The provinces have jurisdiction in the following ratters : a ) Organization and management of the provincial public services ; b ) officials of the province ; c ) local police services ; d) teaching establishments within the state educational program ; e ) libraries, museums and similar institutions , campaigns of a cultural nature and recreational entertainment ; f ) sports activities and establishnents; 8 ) creation, maintenance and administration of sanitary estab lishments within the state health program ; h ) charity institutions; i ) provincial public domain ; j ) public waters and hydraulic projects; k ) roads and means of transportation within each province ; 1 ) regulation of markets and fairs ; m) hunting and fishing in rivers ; n ) implementing, contracting and the granting of concessions for provincial projects and services; ñ ) creation, expansion or separation of municipalities, in ac cord with what has been specified in the Law on Local Govem ment; o ) and all of the jurisdictions inherent in the fulfillinent of those previously listed. The Provincial Councils Will Freely Organize the administration of Their Interests International relations will be in accord with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and that of the Organization of Mfrican Unity.

Chapter VII – OF THE PROVINCES AND MUNICIPALITIES
Art. 45 . The representative organ of the province is the Provincial Council.

103 The Council of Fernando Poo will be composed of eight counselors , one of whom will be elected by the district of Annobon ; that of Rio Muni will be composed of twelve counselors, one of whom will be elected by the district of Corisco. The counselors will be elected by universal vote and their terms of office will coincide with that of the Assembly of the Republic. To be a provincial counselor it is required that the candidate be a Guinean na tional, of adult age and a native of the province or someone who has re sided there for more than ten years.

art. 46. Once constituted, each Provincial Council will proceed to elect its president. Once the choice has been made, the result will be forwarded to the President of the Republic , who will administer the oath of office to the president of the Provincial Council, the latter swearing to serve well and faithfully in his office. The president represents the Council, implements its resolutions and is the head of the Provincial Administration. The president's term of office will be five years, and he can only be dismissed by a resolution of the Provincial Council , adopted by a two thirds majority of its members.

Hmt. 47. Each Council will draft its own regulations, and will freely organize the administration of the provincial interests , in accord with the procedures established in this constitution. It is the function of the Provincial Council to deliberate any mat ters within the provincial jurisdiction, ensure the rights and interests of its different communities, and control the actions of the president of the Provincial Council by means of requests , questions and debates. It especially has the jurisdiction to approve general provisions of a provincial nature and the provincial budgets presented by the president of the Council.

int. 48 . The President of the Republic may suspend the resolutions of the Provincial Councils and the acts of their presidents, should he consider them to be contrary to the laws of the State , after which he shall immediately inform the Supreme Court , which in a plenary meeting will decide the matter of the legality of the aforementioned resolutions.

Art. 49 . The provinces are divided administratively into munici palities, whose local governments will be elected by universal vote. The mayors will be chosen by the local councilmen from among themselves. The law on Local Government will establish the organization, attributions and sphere of authority of the municipal governments, and will regulate a special system for those of Annobon and Corisco in accord with the peculiarities of these islands , as well as for any other area whose special circunstances make such action advisable.

Chapter VIII – OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Art. 50 . The administration of justice corresponds to the Supreme Court and to those judicial organs specified by an Institutional law. The public judicial function will be regulated in accord with the principles of legality, immutability and responsibility.

unt. 51 . The Supreme Court will resolve the appeals presented to it in electoral matters, and it will be responsible for control over im plementation of the budget and the State's accounting system , in the forin established by the laws.

Art. 52 . The judges of the Supreme Court will be appointed by the President of the le public, from among those members of the judicial or legal professions whose names are submitted in groups of three by the Council of the Republic. The plenary assenbly of the Supreme Court will elect its president by an absolute majority vote among its members.

Art. 53. The penal responsibility of the President of the Republic and of the Ministers, of the president of the Assembly , of the presidents of the Provincial Councils and of the members of the Supreme Court , will be demanded before this game Supreme Court, sitting in plenary assembly. Che penal responsibility of the President of the republic can only be demanded after he has served his term of office.

Chapter IX – OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Art. 54. equatorial Guinea will conduct its international rela tions in accord with the objectives and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of African Unity.

art. 55. The Guinean juridical system will be adjusted to those standards of international law that have a general validity.

mnt. 56. To the President of the Republic corresponds the night to engage in the negotiation of international treaties and agreements. The treaties and agreements affecting matters that are exempted from the law, or which imply a burden on public finances, must be ratified or ap proved by means of a [ special] law. In other cases, ratification on ap proval are within the jurisdiction of the President of the Republic , in a Council of Ministers.

rimt. 57. Treaties and agreements, once they have been duly rati fied and approved and subsequently promulgated , enjoy the force of law. Their provisions cannot be modified, revoked or suspended , except in the form specified in the documents themselves or in accord with general in ternational law.

Chapter X – OF CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
Art. 58. The laws on constitutional reform must be approved by the Assembly of the Republic by a qualified majority of two - thirds plus one vote of all its members .' The reform of Articles 1, 13 , 14 , 17 , 22 , 24, 30, 38 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 44 and 58, will require referendums with coinciding results in all the provinces, in addition to the approval of the Assembly in accord with the conditions previously specified.

Temporary Provisions
1st. Independently of what may one day be authorized by the Law on Nationality, those persons will be considered to be Guinean nationals who are of African ancestry and who were born in Equatorial Guinea, as will their children , even though the latter may have been born elsewhere , provided that in either case such persons now possess Spanish nationality.

2nd. any legislation in effect in Guinea at the moment it achieves independence, which does not contradict what is expressly established in this Constitution , will continue to be in effect as long as it is not abolished or modified by the corresponding Guinean institutions.

3rd. The agreements on aid and technical assistance that the Guin ean government may negotiate in the future must facilitate the progressive Africanization of all the staffs within the country's Adininistration.

Complementary Provision
The foregoing Constitution will be submitted to a referendum by the Guinean people and, once approved , it will go into effect on the date that that is set for the nation's independence. All persons considered as Guinean nationals by the 1st Temporary Provision will be entitled to participate in the referendum on this con stitution, and in the elections that will create the Institutions estab lished by it.