Guinea-Bissau voters have approved a new constitution significantly expanding presidential powers ahead of elections due in December; the changes were approved in a referendum that marked the first constitutional amendment since the end of the one-party socialist state over three decades ago.

Referendum Results and Voter Turnout

According to provisional results, 70% of voters supported the sweeping changes in the tiny West African state; the turnout for Sunday’s referendum was reportedly over 55%, amounting to an estimated 544,060 people.

The new constitution will reduce the number of seats in parliament from 102 to 65 and cut electoral constituencies from 29 to 12, a new provision requires presidential candidates to have lived continuously in the country for at least five years before the vote. This requirement is believed to target diaspora-based politicians with significant followings.

Political Context and Stability

The referendum’s outcome is expected to pave the way for December’s elections, which many hope will stabilize the political scene; Guinea-Bissau has experienced a series of politically turbulent periods since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. Since then, the country has had at least 10 coup attempts, half of which were successful.

The most recent coup attempt followed last November’s disputed presidential elections, as Both candidates declared themselves winners, citing electoral malpractice by the other’s camp — the military intervened forcefully, setting up a transitional ruling council headed by Gen Horta Inta-A Na Man, a former military chief of general staff.

Na Man said: “What we want after this referendum is to allow whoever wins the elections to see out their mandate without hindrance.”

Nelson Moreira, the second vice-president of the transitional council, stated the outgoing constitution, which came into effect in 1993, had often been cited as “the cause of instability in Guinea.”

Opposition Response and Concerns

The leading opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), was barred from fielding a presidential candidate in the 2025 election. The party had asked its supporters to boycott the referendum, which it described as a democratic farce.

“What will happen on 30 August is the continuation of the coup d’état carried out on 26 November,” its leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, had said.