Voters in Guinea-Bissau approved a new constitution in a referendum on Sunday, with provisional results showing 70% in favour and a turnout exceeding 55%, roughly 544,060 participants. The amendment, the first since the post‑socialist reforms of the early 1990s, expands presidential powers and restructures the legislature.
The revised charter cuts the number of parliamentary seats from 102 to 65 and reduces electoral constituencies from 29 to 12. It also introduces a residency requirement that presidential candidates must have lived continuously in the country for at least five years, a clause critics say targets diaspora politicians with strong followings.
Authorities say the changes are intended to smooth the path to national elections scheduled for December, which many hope will bring stability after decades of turbulence. Since independence in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has endured at least ten coup attempts, half of which succeeded, and a disputed presidential vote last November triggered a military intervention that installed a transitional ruling council.
The council, led by General Horta Inta‑A Na Man, stated its goal is to allow the eventual election winner to serve a full mandate without obstruction. Opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira, whose African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde was barred from fielding a candidate, denounced the referendum as a democratic farce and urged a boycott, warning that the August vote would merely extend the November coup.
