Guinea-Bissau votes in referendum on giving president more powers

n n

Ballot counting began in military-run Guinea-Bissau as voting ended in Sunday’s referendum, which could give the president more powers ahead of a general election meant to restore civilian rule later this year.

n

Security was stepped up at strategic points in the capital, with members of the national guard and the police stationed at key locations.

n

Voting booths closed as planned at 5 pm local time (1700 GMT), with the first provisional results due on Tuesday.

n

The Executive Secretary, National Electoral Commission, Idrissa Djalo, told a press briefing Sunday evening that turnout had “exceeded” 55 per cent.

n

The commission believes that “on the whole, voting took place without any incidents that would call into question the credibility of the vote,” he added.

n

The referendum came less than 10 months after a coup in which the military seized power in the impoverished Portuguese-speaking west African country.

n

Shopkeeper Halimatou Traore told AFP she hoped the new constitution would bring positive changes.

n

“The successive crises the country has gone through have had a very negative impact on my earnings,” she said as she waited to vote. “If everything goes well, Guinea-Bissau will set off on new paths.”

n

Braima Seidy, 76, a veteran of the war of independence against Portugal, emerged smiling from the polling booth.

n

“I truly believe that this new Constitution can bring stability to the country,” he told AFP.

n

– Presidential system –

n

The junta says the change seeks to stabilise institutions before new presidential and parliamentary elections designed to hand power back to civilians scheduled for December 6.

n

But the political climate is tense in the coup-prone coastal nation. The opposition has urged voters to boycott the referendum “in a context of restrictions on public freedoms.”

n

Junta leader and transitional president Gen. Horta N’Tam called on young people to vote “massively” as he cast his own ballot on Sunday.

n

“What we want after this referendum is to allow whoever wins the elections to see out their mandate without hindrance,” he said.

n

Under the transitional charter he upholds, the general is barred from running for election.

n

The junta has unanimously approved a constitutional amendment for the country to switch to a presidential system from a parliamentary one, and was asking the public to back it.

n

The new text proposes abandoning the old system whereby the Prime Minister came from the parliamentary majority, which has led to uncomfortable power-sharing.

n

It would also allow the Head of State to appoint and dismiss the PM and members of the government, and to dissolve parliament.

n

– ‘Dribs and drabs’ –

n

The army took over power just days after a presidential election, overthrowing then-president Umaro Embalo and suspending the electoral process.

n

Following the 2023 legislative elections, Embalo dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament in response to what he described as an attempted coup.

n

He then ruled by decree until he was ousted by the army.

n

In five Bissau polling stations visited by AFP in the afternoon, voters turned up irregularly in small numbers. Heavy rain in the morning had dissuaded some.

n

“Voters are coming in dribs and drabs,” said the head of one of the stations. “The rain has kept things low-key.”

n

Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries, has experienced five coups and a series of attempted coups since 1974.

n

This referendum comes after several other African countries, including Zimbabwe and Chad, amended their constitutions in recent years to extend term lengths, remove age limits or strengthen powers of the executive.

n

AFP

n n