Provisional results show 70 per cent support for reforms expanding presidential authority and reshaping parliament ahead of December’s election..reports Africa Daily News Desk
Guinea-Bissau has approved a new constitution that expands presidential powers and reshapes the country’s electoral system, with 70 per cent of voters backing the changes in a referendum, provisional results showed.
The referendum, held on Sunday, comes ahead of a presidential election scheduled for December and gives the military-led government greater scope to overhaul the country’s political system following last November’s coup.
Under the new constitution, the president will have the power to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet, create or abolish ministries, and dissolve parliament in the event of a grave political crisis.
The current constitution gives the legislature a key role in appointing the prime minister, who subsequently forms the cabinet.
According to provisional results announced by the National Electoral Commission and reported by Al Jazeera, 70 per cent of voters supported the new charter, while 30 per cent voted against it. Around 544,060 people cast their ballots, representing nearly 60 per cent of registered voters.
The constitutional reforms will also reduce the size of Guinea-Bissau’s parliament from 102 seats to 65 and cut the number of electoral constituencies from 29 to 12.
The new charter further requires presidential candidates to have lived continuously in Guinea-Bissau for the five years preceding an election.
The referendum was boycotted by the country’s main opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which argued that the process lacked sufficient political and institutional safeguards.
PAIGC leader Domingos Simoes Pereira accused supporters of the constitutional changes of attempting to undermine democratic freedoms, saying they wanted to “kill our freedom and bury our democracy”.
Polling stations in the capital Bissau were largely quiet during Sunday’s vote, with some residents telling local media they were unaware that the referendum was taking place or did not fully understand its purpose, Al Jazeera reported.
The approval of the new constitution gives the military government political backing to introduce major changes before the December presidential election.
Guinea-Bissau has a long history of political instability and military intervention. The coup last November was the ninth in West and Central Africa in five years, highlighting a continuing wave of political upheaval across the region.
The country has also struggled with organised crime and drug trafficking, and has long been considered a key transit point for cocaine shipments moving between Latin America and Europe.
