Guinea-Bissau conducted a referendum to determine whether to adopt constitutional amendments that would expand presidential authority and reduce the size of parliament. The military transitional government that seized control in November of the previous year proposed the changes, arguing they would streamline governance and clarify the hierarchy between the presidency and prime minister.
Under the proposed constitution, parliament would shrink from 102 to 65 seats, and the president would gain enhanced powers over the prime minister. Military officials contended that concentrating authority would eliminate ongoing friction between these two offices and facilitate more effective legislative proceedings. Armed forces leadership emphasized that a nation requires a single leader and that the constitutional revisions would establish the president as the supreme national symbol.
Opposition factions rejected the government’s rationale and mounted a campaign urging voters to reject the referendum. They characterized the amendments as a mechanism for the military leadership to consolidate power and alleged the changes would weaken democratic institutions by subordinating parliament and political parties while potentially disregarding electoral outcomes. Political analysts questioned the military government’s authority to alter the constitution without broader legitimacy or consensus.
The referendum preceded a December general election designed to return the country to civilian democratic rule following the previous year’s coup. Guinea-Bissau, Africa’s only Portuguese-speaking nation in West Africa, has experienced multiple coups and attempted coups since independence from Portugal. Experts attributed the nation’s political volatility partly to drug trafficking issues and poverty, despite its significant natural resource wealth. Registered voters and residents expressed mixed views, with some abstaining in protest while others cited insufficient familiarity with the proposed constitution to support it.
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