Guinea votes on new constitution to move from military to civilian rule

A new constitution that would allow coup leader Mamady Doumbouya to run for president and switch the African country from military to civilian rule is up for vote in Guinea today.

The 6.7 million eligible voters can cast a “yes” or “no” vote on a new constitution that would create a Senate with a president’s approval of one-third of its members, who will be appointable by the president directly.

People gathered at polling stations in Conakry, the capital, early on Sunday to cast their ballots, which was prohibited on Friday and Saturday.

According to an Al Jazeera report from Conakry, Ahmed Idris reported that the government has deployed security personnel. A statement from the government states that “more than 40, 000 security personnel have been deployed to provide security for this election.”

According to Idris, “people are anticipating the referendum’s outcome will be the passage of the draft constitution,” which some people find to be impressive and progressive.

“People who oppose this referendum, however, claim that it will legitimize the military’s current position by allowing candidates to cast ballots.” No member of the current military government was actually absent from the transitional charter, according to the charter’s provisions. However, many people worry that the referendum will produce a constitution that will allow each member of the current military to vote in the [next] election, he continued.

Critics are closely watching the referendum, a sign that the government is making a recent move to legitimize its rule in a continent where eight coups have taken place in West and Central Africa since 2023 have had a profound impact on the political landscape.

Doumbouya has also criticized the referendum as a “power grab.” Following his four-year rule, his military-led government’s government broke the December deadline that had been set for it to reestablish civilian rule.

In December, there will be a presidential election.

A coup member’s election would be prohibited from standing in the upcoming elections, despite the military leader’s decision to run for president not yet. However, a transitional charter that his government adopted after it came to power stated this.

The prominent opposition leaders Cellou Dalein Diallo and the ousted former president Alpha Conde have both demanded a vote-by-vote boycott, so it’s likely that the vote will go ahead.

Human Rights Watch is currently suspending Diallo and Conde’s political parties, which they have denied.