Vanuatu 1979
Vanuatu, known before independence as the New Hebrides, drafted its constitution through a process shaped by its unique status as a joint colonial possession of France and the United Kingdom. This status produced dual civil services, dual education systems, and Anglophone and Francophone groups within the population. The territory had no elected representatives in any capacity until 1971.
The French and British governments invited the Hebridean parties to Paris for a conference held July 19-21, 1977. The Vanuaaku Party, the largest Anglophone party, boycotted these talks, at which the two metropolitan governments agreed on interim constitutional arrangements under which the New Hebrides would become internally self-governing in January 1978. The VP boycotted the November elections envisioned under this plan, producing an assembly and government dominated by Francophones. On November 29, the VP declared a provisional government that established effective control over large areas of the islands, leading to sporadic violence between supporters of the two governments. After lengthy discussions, in which the French government used its veto on independence as leverage, a Government of National Unity formed with ministers from both the VP and the Francophone parties.
The Government of National Unity formed a Constitutional Planning Committee in April 1979 to draft the initial text of the constitution. This group originally included only ministers from the GNU and traditional leaders, but it soon expanded to include representatives of the parties, religious leaders, and women. French and British legal specialists advised the committee. The committee made all decisions by consensus. It finished the draft constitution in August 1979.
A constitutional conference met on September 17, 1979 to finalize the text of the constitution. Its membership consisted of the Constitutional Planning Committee and the British and French ministers for the colonies. This meeting again proceeded by consensus, concluding their work just before dawn on September 19, 1979. Members of the committee then traveled around the islands to publicize the draft and receive comments on it, but there was no opportunity to change the draft in response to public comments. The constitution was ratified through an exchange of notes between the French and British governments on October 23, 1979.
The new constitution came into force at independence on July 30, 1980. Elections held in the interim produced VP majorities in the two regional assemblies created in largely Francophone areas. These results, and influence from French expatriates in New Caledonia and American businessmen, led to a secessionist movement on some islands. While the French and British did deploy some troops to provide order, the secessionist movement was put down shortly after independence by forces from Papua New Guinea.