Vote count starts in Guinea-Bissau referendum on strengthening presidency

Ten months after a coup, military leaders say the referendum is designed to stabilise future civilian governments.Published On 30 Aug 202630 Aug 2026Ballot counting is under way in a referendum in Guinea-Bissau that could significantly boost the presidency’s power.Citizens of the West African nation took to the polls on Sunday to vote on a new constitution that would reform the country’s political system ahead of elections later this year.Turnout “exceeded” 55 percent and the poll took place “without any incidents that would call into question the credibility of the vote”, Idrissa Djalo, executive secretary of the National Electoral Commission, told a news briefing on Sunday.Results are expected on Tuesday.The referendum comes less than 10 months after the military seized power in a coup.The military government says it seeks to stabilise institutions before presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled for December 6, designed to hand power back to a civilian government.The new constitution, which citizens were asked to approve on Sunday, would switch Guinea-Bissau’s political system from a parliamentary to a presidential one.It would abandon the system by which prime ministe...