Guinea-Bissau approves new constitution: cuts to parliament and residency rule ahead of December vote

Voters in Guinea-Bissau approved a new constitution at a referendum that significantly expands presidential powers ahead of elections due in December.

Provisional results show 70% voted in favor. Turnout was reported above 55%, amounting to an estimated 544,060 people.

The new constitution reduces parliamentary seats from 102 to 65 and cuts electoral constituencies from 29 to 12. It also introduces a requirement that presidential candidates must have lived continuously in the country for at least five years before the vote.

That residency provision is believed to target diaspora-based politicians with significant followings.

Supporters expect the referendum outcome to pave the way for December’s elections, which are seen as an opportunity to steady Guinea-Bissau’s political landscape. Since international recognition of independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has experienced at least 10 coup attempts, about half successful.

The most recent crisis followed disputed presidential elections last November, when both candidates declared victory. The military intervened and set up a transitional ruling council headed by former chief of general staff Gen Horta Inta-A Na Man.

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 transitional council’s second vice-president, said the outgoing 1993 constitution had often been cited as “the cause of instability in Guinea.”

The leading opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which was barred from fielding a presidential candidate in the 2025 election, had urged supporters to boycott the referendum and called it a democratic farce. Its leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, said: “What will happen on 30 August is the continuation of the coup d’état carried out on 26 November.”