Guinea votes on new constitution to move from military to civilian rule | Elections News

Guinea’s 6.7 million voters eligible to forged a ‘sure’ or ‘no’ vote on a brand new structure.

Guinea is holding a long-awaited referendum on a brand new structure that would permit coup chief Mamady Doumbouya to run for president and would transition the African nation from navy to civilian rule.

Polls opened and can shut afterward Sunday for the 6.7 million eligible voters to forged a “sure” or “no” vote on a brand new structure that may lengthen the presidential time period from 5 to seven years, renewable as soon as, and create a Senate, one-third of whose members the president would instantly appoint.

Within the capital, Conakry, the place political campaigning was banned on Friday and Saturday, individuals gathered at polling stations early on Sunday to forged their votes.

Reporting from Conakry, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris stated the federal government has deployed safety officers with a authorities assertion outlining that “greater than 40,000 safety personnel have been deployed to supply safety for this election”.

“Persons are anticipating that the referendum will consequence within the approval of the draft structure that some individuals name spectacular and progressive,” Idris stated.

“Nonetheless, people who find themselves against this referendum are saying it should legitimise the present navy rulership to take part within the election. The transitional constitution stated, in truth, no member of the present navy authorities will take part, however lots of people worry that the referendum will end in a structure that may permit each member of this authorities to take part within the [next] election,” he added

Critics are carefully watching the referendum, fearing that that is the newest try by the federal government to legitimise its rule on a continent the place eight coups since 2023 in West and Central Africa have modified the political panorama.

The referendum has additionally been criticised as an influence seize by Doumbouya. His military-led authorities missed a December deadline it had set to return the federal government to civilian rule after he had seized energy 4 years in the past.

A presidential election is scheduled to happen in December.

Whereas the navy chief has not but stated if he would run within the presidential election, a transitional constitution adopted by his authorities after it took energy stated coup members could be barred from standing within the subsequent elections.

Sunday’s vote is more likely to move as two of the distinguished opposition leaders, Cellou Dalein Diallo and deposed former President Alpha Conde, have known as for a boycott of the vote.

Each Diallo’s and Conde’s events are presently suspended with Human Rights Watch accusing the navy authorities of disappearing political opponents, which it has denied.

The outcomes of the election are anticipated inside the subsequent two to a few days, Idris stated.