The Constitution of Federal Africa

Article 1Name and nature

1. 1.

   The name of the federation is Federal Africa.

2. 2.

   Federal Africa is a model federation. It is a continental civic simulation in which Africans practise how the institutions of a united Africa could work, and in which the roles, the debates and the accountability are real to those who take part.

3. 3.

   Federal Africa is not a government. It is not a political party, a campaign or a vehicle for any candidate, and it is not a rival to any nation, to the African Union or to the Pan-African Parliament.

4. 4.

   Every institution created by this Constitution is a practice institution. Its decisions are model decisions, they apply only inside Federal Africa, and each is labelled as a simulation wherever it is published.

Article 2Purposes

The Federation exists for three purposes, which this Constitution calls Practise, Solve and Act. Together they describe the journey of a citizen from taking a role to changing something in the world.

1. 1.

   The purposes of the Federation are:

   1. (a)Practise: to give citizens real roles inside the platform, such as a seat in the Assembly, a post in a department, a place on the Court, a role on a council or a role in their home State;
   2. (b)Solve: to work real problems through Leadership Missions on challenges such as trade, jobs, climate, health and mobility;
   3. (c)Act: to take the results into the world through proposals, briefings, community projects and initiatives.
2. 2.

   Every institution of the Federation uses its powers in the service of these purposes and for no other end.

Article 3Authority and scope of this Constitution

1. 1.

   This Constitution is the highest set of rules inside Federal Africa. Every institution, every office-holder and every citizen acts within it, and any rule, resolution or act that goes against it has no effect inside the platform.

2. 2.

   This Constitution binds only inside Federal Africa. It governs no person, State or institution outside the platform, it creates no legal right or duty, and nothing done under it has legal effect in any country.

3. 3.

   The Federal Africa Charter states what Federal Africa is, why it exists and the principles it holds. This Constitution is read in the light of the Charter. Where its words are open to more than one meaning, the meaning closest to the principles of the Charter is preferred.

4. 4.

   The Terms of Membership and the code of conduct are made under this Constitution and bind every citizen.

Article 4Motto and languages

1. 1.

   The motto of the Federation is "Unity in Diversity".

2. 2.

   The Federation works in English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese, and publishes this Constitution in each of them.

3. 3.

   Where two versions of a text differ, the English text is followed until the difference is corrected.

4. 4.

   No citizen is placed at a disadvantage because of the language, among these five, in which they choose to take part.

Article 5The States

1. 1.

   The Federation has 55 States, one for each African nation. They are listed in alphabetical order in Schedule A with their codes, from Algeria at 01 to Zimbabwe at 54, with Western Sahara at 55.

2. 2.

   A State of the Federation is a constituency of citizens. It is not the government of the nation whose name it carries, it does not speak for that government, and it claims none of its authority.

3. 3.

   Every State has equal standing under this Constitution, whatever its population and however many of its people have joined.

4. 4.

   Citizens may hold roles in their home State, and each State may organise its own work inside the platform within the limits of this Constitution.

Article 6The diaspora constituencies

1. 1.

   Africans living outside the continent are represented through eight diaspora constituencies: a global group and seven world regions, with codes 90 to 97.

2. 2.

   A diaspora constituency has the same standing as a State under this Constitution, and is represented in both chambers of the Assembly on the terms set out in Part V.

3. 3.

   Pan-African institutions, code 56, are an affiliation and not a constituency. They hold no seats. Codes 98 and 99 are reserved for special federal assignments.

Article 7Belonging to a constituency

1. 1.

   Each citizen belongs to one constituency at a time: a home State or a diaspora constituency.

2. 2.

   A citizen's constituency is the one named in their Federal ID.

3. 3.

   A change of constituency is made only through the Office of Federal Identity Services, on rules it publishes in advance. A citizen who changes constituency gives up any seat held for the constituency they leave.

Article 8Citizenship

1. 1.

   A citizen of Federal Africa is a registered member who holds a Federal ID.

2. 2.

   Citizenship of Federal Africa is membership. It is not a nationality, it gives no legal status outside the platform, and it changes nothing about a person's nationality or rights in any country.

3. 3.

   Citizenship is open on the terms set out in the Charter and the Terms of Membership. No person is refused, or treated less well as a citizen, because of their sex, religion, ethnic origin, language, disability or political opinion.

4. 4.

   Citizenship ends when a citizen leaves, or when membership is ended under the Terms of Membership. It is ended only under rules published in advance, and only after the citizen has been heard.

Article 9Rights of citizens

The rights in this article are held inside the platform by every citizen equally. They may be limited only by this Constitution and the code of conduct.

1. 1.

   Every citizen has the right:

   1. (a)to take part in the life of the Federation;
   2. (b)to apply, on equal terms, for any seat, post or role for which they qualify;
   3. (c)to speak, to propose and to vote in the bodies to which they belong;
   4. (d)to be heard before any decision is made against them, and to be given the reasons for it;
   5. (e)to see how decisions are made, through the open records of the institutions;
   6. (f)to ask the Supreme Court to decide whether this Constitution has been breached.
2. 2.

   Every citizen decides what is shared about them. When a Federal Africa service or an approved partner needs to confirm something about a citizen, it sees only what that citizen has agreed to share.

3. 3.

   Every citizen can review the consents they have given, and withdraw them, from their own dashboard.

Article 10Duties of citizens

1. 1.

   Every citizen has the duty:

   1. (a)to keep the code of conduct and to treat every other citizen with respect, with particular care for young members;
   2. (b)to hold one Federal ID only, and to give true information when their identity is verified;
   3. (c)never to present a model decision as a real one;
   4. (d)never to claim to speak for a government or an institution because of a role held in Federal Africa;
   5. (e)never to use Federal Africa to campaign for a party or a candidate in any national election;
   6. (f)to carry out faithfully the work of any seat or office they accept.

Article 11Founding citizens

1. 1.

   Citizens who join Federal Africa before 1 January 2027 are founding citizens.

2. 2.

   The names of founding citizens are entered in the register of founding citizens, which the Founder keeps as part of the founding record.

3. 3.

   To be a founding citizen is an honour. It carries no additional vote, seat or power.

Article 12The Federal ID

1. 1.

   Each citizen holds one Federal ID. It is issued by the Office of Federal Identity Services (OFIS), which runs the identity system of the Federation.

2. 2.

   A Federal ID number names the holder's State, diaspora constituency or affiliation. A number is issued once and is never given to another person.

3. 3.

   There are four levels of verification:

   1. (a)Level 0, Unverified: a federal account exists and its Federal ID is issued. Participation begins.
   2. (b)Level 1, Basic Verified: core identity details have been checked.
   3. (c)Level 2, Strong Verified: identity evidence has been reviewed to a strong standard.
   4. (d)Level 3, Institutional Trust: the highest assurance Federal Africa grants.
4. 4.

   Anyone may join at Level 0. Roles that carry more responsibility ask for a higher level, and the level asked for each seat and office is published before it is opened.

5. 5.

   A citizen's full Federal ID number is shown only to that citizen. Everyone else sees it masked.

6. 6.

   OFIS collects only what participation needs.

7. 7.

   The Federal ID is a civic membership credential that works inside Federal Africa. It is not a passport, a national identity card or proof of nationality.

Article 13The Founder

1. 1.

   Federal Africa was founded by Yusuf Kayiwa, a citizen of Uganda, in 2024. He holds the standing of Founder of Federal Africa for life.

2. 2.

   The standing of Founder is not an office. It cannot be transferred, shared, revoked or held by any other person, and it ends only with the Founder's life.

3. 3.

   The Founder holds no executive, legislative or judicial power by virtue of this standing. No decision of any branch requires the Founder's consent, and no act of the Founder binds any branch.

4. 4.

   The Founder keeps the founding record: the first text of this Constitution, the record of its adoption, and the register of founding citizens.

5. 5.

   The Founder opens the first session of each chamber after a general election and signs each adopted version of this Constitution as its custodian, without power to refuse.

6. 6.

   When the Council of Elders and Advisors rules on a dispute about the founding intent of this Constitution, it consults the Founder and records the Founder's view. The ruling is the Council's alone.

7. 7.

   The Founder may stand for and hold any office under this Constitution on the same terms as any other citizen, and leaves it on the same terms.

8. 8.

   This article may be amended only by the procedure in Part XII, and no amendment may transfer the standing of Founder to another person or create a second Founder.

Article 14The Assembly and its chambers

1. 1.

   The legislative work of the Federation belongs to the Federal Assembly.

2. 2.

   The Assembly has two chambers: the Federal Congress, in which every constituency has the same voice, and the House of Representatives, in which representation follows population.

3. 3.

   Neither chamber stands above the other. A model resolution is the act of the Assembly only when both chambers have adopted it.

Article 15The Federal Congress

1. 1.

   The Federal Congress has 189 seats.

2. 2.

   Each of the 55 States and each of the eight diaspora constituencies sends three members, so that the Congress is made up of 63 delegations of three.

3. 3.

   A constituency's weight in the Congress does not depend on its size, and no rule may give one delegation more votes than another.

Article 16The House of Representatives

1. 1.

   The House of Representatives has 360 seats.

2. 2.

   Every constituency, State or diaspora, begins with two seats. Sixteen seats therefore belong to the diaspora, two for each of its constituencies.

3. 3.

   The other 344 seats belong to the States. After each State's two, the remaining 234 are divided among the States in proportion to population and rounded by largest remainder.

4. 4.

   No State may hold more than 36 seats, one tenth of the House. Seats above that line are shared out again among the other States.

5. 5.

   The population figures used are the estimates of the United Nations.

6. 6.

   The seats of the House are shared out again every five years. The next sharing is on 1 July 2030. The table in force is Schedule B.

Article 17Seats and how they are held

1. 1.

   A seat belongs to its constituency and is held only by a citizen of that constituency.

2. 2.

   Citizens apply for seats through the platform. Applications are decided on criteria published in advance, and the same criteria apply in every constituency.

3. 3.

   When every seat of a constituency is filled, no further application is accepted for that constituency until a seat falls vacant. No waiting list is kept.

4. 4.

   No citizen holds more than one seat in the Assembly at a time.

Article 18The work of the Assembly

1. 1.

   The Assembly debates, amends and votes on model resolutions drawn from the work of the departments and of Leadership Missions.

2. 2.

   The Assembly may question the Federal Chairperson and any Secretary on the work of the executive, and it receives their reports.

3. 3.

   A model resolution is not a law. It is published as a model resolution and is labelled as a simulation.

Article 19Procedure

1. 1.

   A model resolution is adopted by a chamber when a majority of its members voting support it.

2. 2.

   A chamber may decide a question only when at least one third of its members take part in the vote.

3. 3.

   Each chamber chooses a presiding officer from among its members and sets its own rules of procedure, within this Constitution.

4. 4.

   The debates and votes of each chamber are recorded and are open to every citizen.

Article 20The Federal Chairperson

1. 1.

   The executive work of the Federation belongs to the Federal Chairperson, who leads the executive and answers to the Assembly for its work.

2. 2.

   The Chairperson sets the priorities of the executive, directs the departments and presents their proposals to the Assembly.

3. 3.

   The Chairperson represents the Federation inside the platform. In dealings with partners the Chairperson acts only as the head of a civic simulation, and never as a head of state or of government.

Article 21Election and term of the Chairperson

1. 1.

   The Chairperson is elected by the two chambers of the Assembly sitting together, by a majority of the members voting.

2. 2.

   Any citizen who meets the level of verification set for the office may stand.

3. 3.

   The Chairperson serves a term of two years and may serve two terms in all.

4. 4.

   If the office falls vacant during a term, the two chambers elect a successor for the rest of that term. Until they do, the presiding officer of the Federal Congress acts as Chairperson, and Article 34 does not apply to that officer while acting.

Article 22The departments

1. 1.

   The executive is organised in departments formed around the priorities of the continent. Each department is led by a Secretary.

2. 2.

   The Chairperson appoints each Secretary, and the Federal Congress confirms the appointment.

3. 3.

   The departments prepare proposals, run Leadership Missions and report to the Assembly.

4. 4.

   A Secretary serves during the term of the Chairperson who appointed them and may be replaced by the Chairperson. A replacement is confirmed in the same way.

Article 23The Supreme Court

1. 1.

   The judicial work of the Federation belongs to the Supreme Court. The Court has 150 seats.

2. 2.

   Citizens apply for a place on the Court through the platform. The level of verification asked of a member of the Court is published before places are opened.

3. 3.

   The Court organises its own work and may sit in panels.

Article 24What the Court decides

1. 1.

   The Court interprets this Constitution and the Federal Africa Charter, and hears disputes that arise inside the platform.

2. 2.

   Any citizen and any institution of the Federation may ask the Court to decide whether a model resolution, or any act of an institution or office-holder of the Federation, agrees with this Constitution.

3. 3.

   A resolution or act that the Court finds to be against this Constitution has no effect inside the platform.

4. 4.

   The decisions of the Court are given with reasons and are published. They are labelled as simulated judgments, and they bind the institutions and citizens of the Federation inside the platform only.

Article 25Independence of the Court

1. 1.

   Members of the Court decide according to this Constitution and their own judgment. No institution and no person may direct them in a case.

2. 2.

   A member of the Court holds no seat in the Assembly and no post in the executive while serving on the Court.

3. 3.

   A member of the Court takes no part in a case in which they have a personal interest.

Article 26The standing councils

Seats and posts are not the whole of the Federation. Standing councils keep it wise, inclusive and connected across generations.

1. 1.

   The standing councils of the Federation are:

   1. (a)the Council of Elders and Advisors, which offers the counsel of people who have led institutions, movements and communities;
   2. (b)the Youth Advisory Council, which gives the generation Federal Africa is built for a standing voice in its direction and priorities;
   3. (c)the Women's Council, which works to see that women lead and are represented at every level;
   4. (d)the Diaspora Advisory Board, which connects the skills, networks and perspectives of the diaspora to the work on the continent.
2. 2.

   The councils advise the three branches. Their advice is recorded and published, and it binds no branch.

3. 3.

   A branch that receives the written advice of a council on a matter before it considers that advice before it decides.

Article 27The founding intent of this Constitution

1. 1.

   A dispute about the founding intent of this Constitution is referred to the Council of Elders and Advisors.

2. 2.

   The Council consults the Founder and records the Founder's view, as Article 13 provides. The ruling is the Council's alone.

3. 3.

   Every other question about the meaning of this Constitution is for the Supreme Court.

Article 28The Patron of the Year

1. 1.

   Each year the Federation names a Patron of the Year: a person whose life and work advance the cause of a united Africa.

2. 2.

   The title is an honour. It carries no office and no power.

Article 29Leadership Missions

1. 1.

   A Leadership Mission takes a real African challenge and works it from evidence to decision to action.

2. 2.

   The departments prepare a mission, the Assembly debates what it proposes, the councils advise, and the Court checks the outcome against this Constitution and the principles of the Charter.

3. 3.

   What a mission produces, whether research, proposals or projects, is real work and is offered openly. No institution outside the platform is obliged to adopt any of it.

Article 30Open records

1. 1.

   The Federation reports openly on its work.

2. 2.

   The records of the Assembly, the executive and the Court are published to citizens.

3. 3.

   Personal information about a citizen is published only as Article 9 allows.

Article 31Terms

1. 1.

   Every seat and every office under this Constitution is held for a term of two years.

2. 2.

   A term begins on the day the first session after a general election is opened, and ends when the next such session is opened.

Article 32General elections

1. 1.

   A general election is held every two years. All seats in both chambers become open on the same day.

2. 2.

   At a general election the seats are filled by application, as Article 17 provides, until the Assembly adopts rules for filling them by vote. Rules adopted for voting apply from the general election that follows.

3. 3.

   The rules of each election are published before it opens and are the same for every constituency.

Article 33Vacancies

1. 1.

   A seat that falls vacant during a term is filled, for the rest of that term, by a citizen of the same constituency.

2. 2.

   A vacancy is announced to the citizens of that constituency before it is filled.

Article 34One branch at a time

1. 1.

   No citizen holds a seat or an office in more than one branch at the same time.

2. 2.

   A citizen who accepts a seat or an office in one branch gives up, on the same day, any they hold in another.

Article 35Removal

1. 1.

   A citizen may be removed from a seat or an office only for a breach of the code of conduct or of this Constitution.

2. 2.

   Removal is decided by the Supreme Court, after the citizen has been told the case against them and has been heard.

3. 3.

   A member of the Court is removed in the same way, by a panel of the Court on which that member does not sit.

Article 36What Federal Africa will never do

1. 1.

   Federal Africa never claims to speak for any government or institution.

2. 2.

   Federal Africa never issues documents with legal effect.

3. 3.

   Federal Africa never endorses candidates or takes sides in national elections.

4. 4.

   Federal Africa never presents a simulated decision as a real one.

Article 37Principles

So that Federal Africa remains a civic good, every institution of the Federation is bound by the principles of the Charter.

1. 1.

   The institutions of the Federation are bound by these principles:

   1. (a)Non-partisan: the Federation advances no party, candidate or ideology.
   2. (b)Additive, never adversarial: it complements Africa's real institutions and never claims their authority.
   3. (c)Honest about simulation: model decisions are always labelled as model decisions.
   4. (d)Youth-led, elder-guided: it is directed by the young and counselled by the experienced.
   5. (e)Inclusive by design: women, the diaspora and every region have a formal place at the table.
   6. (f)Private by design: citizens control what is shared about them.
   7. (g)Safe and respectful: every citizen is held to a code of conduct, with particular care for young members.
   8. (h)Merit and service: standing is earned through contribution and is never purchased.
   9. (i)Transparent and accountable: power inside the platform is checked across three branches.

Article 38Africa's institutions

1. 1.

   Federal Africa complements the institutions Africa already has. It rehearses their goals and never competes with their authority.

2. 2.

   The Federation aligns its missions with the continental agenda set by the African Union, including Agenda 2063.

3. 3.

   The Federation offers its ideas openly to national governments, to the regional economic communities and to continental bodies, and it respects the authority of every African nation.

Article 39Proposing an amendment

1. 1.

   An amendment to this Constitution may be proposed by one third of the members of either chamber, or by the Federal Chairperson.

2. 2.

   A proposed amendment is published to every citizen before either chamber votes on it.

Article 40Adopting an amendment

1. 1.

   An amendment is adopted when two thirds of the members of each chamber vote for it.

2. 2.

   An adopted amendment takes effect on the day the new version of this Constitution is signed and published.

Article 41Protected provisions

1. 1.

   No amendment may remove or weaken Article 1, clause 2 of Article 3, clause 8 of Article 13, or any safeguard in Part XI.

2. 2.

   The Supreme Court decides whether a proposed amendment would do so, before the chambers vote.

Article 42Versions and custody

1. 1.

   Each adopted version of this Constitution is numbered, dated and signed by the Founder as its custodian.

2. 2.

   Earlier versions stay public, so that any citizen can see how the text has changed.

Article 43Adoption of this Constitution

1. 1.

   The Founder publishes this Constitution as a founding draft, and every citizen may comment on it.

2. 2.

   Until the first Assembly sits, the founding draft applies as the provisional rules of the Federation.

3. 3.

   This Constitution is ratified when a majority of the members of each chamber of the first Assembly approve it. It then becomes version 1.0.

Article 44First offices

1. 1.

   Until the first election of a Federal Chairperson under Article 21, the Founder serves as Federal Chairperson. This is a transitional arrangement. It rests on this article alone and not on the standing of Founder, and it ends with that first election.

2. 2.

   Seats and offices filled before ratification are held under the founding draft, and continue until the first general election.