Guinea-Bissau votes to reshape presidency
The West African nation's military government wants to amend the constitution to give more powers to the president. The junta, which seized power last year, says it will hold elections in December.
Guinea-Bissau held a referendum on Sunday to determine whether to grant the president expanded powers as the nation moves from military to democratic rule. The Associated Press reported that turnout was low at many polling stations, as the opposition called for a boycott of the vote. Guinea-Bissau, home to around 2.2 million people, has been under army control since last November following a disputed election.
The country's military junta has approved a constitutional amendment to shift from a parliamentary to a presidential system. This would enable the president to appoint and dismiss the prime minister, as well as dissolve parliament. The amendment also reduces the number of parliamentary seats from 102 to 65.
The junta asserts that the change aims to stabilize institutions before scheduled civilian-led presidential and parliamentary elections on December 6. However, opposition groups have urged citizens to abstain from voting, alleging that the referendum will enable the junta leader to solidify his power and calling it a source of political instability.
Polls close at 1700 GMT on Sunday, with the first provisional results expected on Tuesday. Guinea-Bissau, one of the world's poorest countries, has experienced five coups and several attempted coups since 1974.
Written by urgent.news from DW News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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