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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Guinea-Bissau votes on referendum to give president more powers

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Guinea-Bissau began counting votes after a referendum on granting the president greater powers and replacing the parliamentary system with a presidential one.
  • The military-led authorities said the proposed changes would stabilize institutions before presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 6.
  • The opposition urged a boycott over restrictions on public freedoms, while the electoral commission said turnout exceeded 55% and voting occurred without incidents affecting credibility.

Guinea-Bissau began counting ballots Sunday after voters took part in a referendum that could give the president greater powers before elections intended to restore civilian rule later this year.

exceeded

— Idrissa DjaloThe National Electoral Commission executive secretary described reported turnout at a Sunday evening briefing.

The referendum asks voters to approve a constitutional shift from a parliamentary system to a presidential one. Under the proposed framework, the head of state would gain the power to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and members of the government. The existing system, in which the prime minister comes from the parliamentary majority, has produced difficult power-sharing arrangements.

Security forces increased their presence at strategic points in the capital, Bissau, as polling stations closed at 5 p.m. local time. Idrissa Djalo, executive secretary of the National Electoral Commission, said turnout had “exceeded” 55 percent. He also said voting had taken place without incidents that would call the credibility of the vote into question. The first provisional results were expected Tuesday.

If everything goes well, Guinea-Bissau will set off on new paths

— Halimatou TraoreThe shopkeeper described her hopes for the proposed constitution after voting.

The vote came less than 10 months after the military seized power in a coup in the impoverished Portuguese-speaking West African country. The junta says the constitutional change would stabilize institutions ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 6. Transitional President Gen. Horta N’Tam is barred from standing under the transitional charter.

I truly believe that this new Constitution can bring stability to the country

— Braima SeidyThe veteran of Guinea-Bissau’s independence war explained why he supported the referendum.

The opposition called for a boycott, citing restrictions on public freedoms. N’Tam urged young people to vote “massively” and said the goal was to ensure that whoever wins the elections could complete the mandate without hindrance. Voters expressed contrasting hopes: shopkeeper Halimatou Traore said she wanted positive changes after successive crises damaged her earnings, while independence war veteran Braima Seidy said he believed the constitution could bring stability.

What we want after this referendum is to allow whoever wins the elections to see out their mandate without hindrance

— Horta N’TamThe transitional president described the junta’s stated objective after casting his ballot.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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