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By Ummul Idris<\/p>\n
Guinea-Bissau will hold a constitutional referendum on Aug. 30 on proposed reforms that would expand presidential powers and reshape the rules for elections scheduled for December.<\/p>\n
The West African country is currently led by military officers who staged a coup in 2026.<\/p>\n
Under the current constitution, the legislature appoints the prime minister, who forms the cabinet.<\/p>\n
However, the proposed constitution would empower the president to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet.<\/p>\n
The president would also be able to create or abolish government ministries, chair the Council of Ministers and dissolve parliament in the event of a grave political crisis, according to the proposed constitution.<\/p>\n
The reforms would also reduce the number of parliamentary seats from 102 to 65 and cut electoral constituencies from 29 to 12.<\/p>\n
Manuel Nobre de Barros, a professor at Lusofona University in Guinea-Bissau, said the reduction in electoral constituencies could curb the influence of political parties with strong local bases.<\/p>\n
He said the broader reforms would significantly alter the balance of power between the presidency and the legislature.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe changes give the president absolute power under the new constitution, with no political opposition,\u201d de Barros said.<\/p>\n
The proposed constitution would also require presidential candidates to have resided permanently in Guinea-Bissau for the previous five years, a condition not included in the current constitution.<\/p>\n
The coup in November 2025 took place a day before the electoral commission was due to announce the results of a presidential election.<\/p>\n
The referendum is expected to determine the constitutional framework ahead of the planned December elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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