Guinea-Bissau Referendum Approves New Constitution That Expands President’s Powers

Voters in Guinea-Bissau have approved a new constitution that significantly expands presidential powers ahead of a general election later this year. The referendum was organised by the military government that seized power in the West African nation last November following a disputed election. Provisional results announced by the country’s electoral commission showed that 70 per cent of voters backed the changes in Sunday’s referendum, while 30 per cent voted against them. Turnout was reported at nearly 60 per cent.

The sweeping reforms allow the president 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 changes strengthen the presidency at the expense of the prime minister, altering the balance of power under Guinea-Bissau’s semi-presidential system. Previously, Guinea-Bissau’s legislature appointed a prime minister from the parliamentary majority, who then formed a cabinet, an arrangement the ruling military authorities said had contributed to political instability. The five-year presidential term and two-term limit have been retained. The new constitution also reduces the number of seats in parliament from 102 to 65 and cuts the number of electoral constituencies from 29 to 12. It introduces new eligibility requirements for presidential candidates, including a provision requiring them to have lived continuously in Guinea-Bissau for the five years before an election.

The main opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), boycotted the vote, saying the process lacked adequate political and institutional safeguards and threatened the country’s transition back to democracy. PAIGC leader Domingos Simões Pereira accused those behind the referendum of seeking to undermine democracy and political freedoms. Some activists told the BBC that the referendum was a mere formality and claimed that 90 per cent of registered voters did not take part.

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Regional analyst Paul Ejime told the BBC’s Newsday programme that the referendum result did not reflect the will of the people, arguing that the changes were aimed at turning the president into an “emperor”. “The population is terrified because the military has been going after everyone who opposes them,” Ejime said, adding that the junta lacked legitimacy because it had come to power in what he described as a “very strange coup”. He called on the regional bloc ECOWAS to intervene and enforce its rules, which bar member states from changing their constitutions within six months of an election.

Guinea-Bissau, one of the poorest countries in the world, has experienced at least nine attempted and successful coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. The United Nations has dubbed the country a “narco-state”, as its coastline has many uninhabited islands, making it ideal for drug traffickers. The military seized power in November 2025 after a disputed presidential election in which then-President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias both claimed victory. The junta leaders said they had acted to thwart a plot by unnamed politicians who had “the support of a well-known drug baron” to destabilise the country. The takeover added Guinea-Bissau to a growing list of western and central African countries that have experienced military coups in recent years.

The changes come ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December, which the military authorities say are intended to return the country to civilian rule. However, the referendum was strongly opposed by the country’s main opposition party, which warned that the changes risked concentrating too much power in the presidency. December’s elections will now be an important test of whether the country can return to democratic governance after the military takeover.

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