Guinea-Bissau Votes 70% for a Presidency With Far More Power
GUINEA-BISSAU · POLITICS
Key Facts
—The result: Guinea-Bissau’s new constitution was approved by 70% of votes cast against 30%, according to provisional results announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) on Tuesday, two days after the referendum.
—Who turned out: Some 544,060 people voted, almost 60% of the roughly 915,000 registered voters. During Sunday’s vote the commission had estimated participation at above 55%.
—What changes: The text moves the country from a parliamentary system toward a presidential one. The president gains the power to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet, to create or abolish ministries, and to dissolve parliament in a grave political crisis.
—What else is in the text: Parliament shrinks from 102 seats to 65, the number of electoral constituencies falls from 29 to 12, and presidential candidates must have lived continuously in Guinea-Bissau for the preceding five years.
—Who boycotted: Opposition parties, led by the historic PAIGC, urged voters to stay away, arguing the process lacked political and institutional safeguards. Polling stations in Bissau were largely empty on Sunday, a Reuters witness reported.
—The commission’s verdict: The CNE’s executive secretary, Idrissa Djalo, said the vote passed without incidents that would call its credibility into question. No independent observer assessment has been published.
—What comes next: A presidential and general election is scheduled for December, meant to end the transition that followed the coup of last November. The results remain provisional.
Guinea-Bissau’s constitution has been approved by 70% of voters against 30%, on provisional results published by the National Electoral Commission. It hands the president far wider powers weeks before a December election meant to restore civilian rule. This article updates our report of August 30 on the referendum vote itself.
What the new constitution actually changes
The central change is the balance between the presidency and everything else. Under the new text, the head of state may appoint and dismiss the prime minister and the members of the government, a job that today belongs to parliament.
The president may also create or abolish ministries and, in the event of a grave political crisis, dissolve parliament. Taken together, those provisions move the country from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, and electoral rules are reshaped alongside them.
The text goes beyond the executive. It cuts the National Popular Assembly from 102 seats to 65, reduces the number of electoral constituencies from 29 to 12, and requires presidential candidates to have lived continuously in the country for the five years before the vote, a clause with obvious relevance to politicians who spent the coup period abroad.
The numbers behind the vote
Some 544,060 people cast ballots, almost 60% of the roughly 915,000 registered voters, according to the commission. On Sunday evening its executive secretary, Idrissa Djalo, had estimated participation at above 55%.
Djalo said the poll had passed without incidents that would call the credibility of the vote into question. That is the commission’s own assessment, and no independent verification of it has been published.
The figures remain provisional. The commission had not announced a date for final, validated results at the time of writing.
A boycott makes the margin harder to read
Opposition parties called for a boycott, and polling stations in the capital were largely empty on Sunday, a Reuters witness reported. Some residents told local media they had not known the referendum was being held or did not understand its purpose.
The PAIGC, the country’s historic ruling party, argued that the new text would weaken the prime minister, the government, political parties and the legislature. Its leader, Domingos Simoes Pereira, said in a video message that the backers of the referendum sought to “kill our freedom and bury our democracy”.
That is the difficulty with a 70% margin in a boycotted vote. It measures the enthusiasm of those who turned out, not the settled preference of the country. A near-60% turnout is nonetheless higher than a full boycott would have produced, and both sides can read the number as supporting their case.
Why a small country matters to a wider audience
Guinea-Bissau has had a long series of coups and attempted coups since independence, and the officers who organised this referendum took power last November. The vote is presented as the step that ends that transition before December’s election.
For investors and diplomats, the interest is precedent rather than market size. West Africa has seen several transitions in which a constitutional rewrite arrived before the election that was supposed to restore civilian rule.
The pattern matters because it changes what an election settles. A presidency with these powers is a different prize from the one contested under the old text.
What a presidential system changes in practice
In a parliamentary system the prime minister answers to parliament, and a government falls when it loses a majority. Under the new text the prime minister answers to the president instead.
That single change reorders every other relationship. Cabinet appointments, the survival of a government and the life of the legislature all pass through one office.
Guinea-Bissau’s instability has often run through exactly that relationship. Disputes between presidents and prime ministers have repeatedly preceded its coups. Supporters of the text argue that a clearer chain of authority is what the country has lacked; opponents reply that concentrating authority is what has repeatedly gone wrong.
What happens next
The presidential and general election is scheduled for December. Whoever wins will take office under the new arrangement rather than the old one.
The immediate questions are whether the opposition contests that election after boycotting the referendum, and whether the final results confirm the provisional margin. Regional bodies have not yet published a formal assessment of the process.
This report is based on the provisional results announced by Guinea-Bissau’s National Electoral Commission on September 1, 2026, as reported by Reuters, and corroborated against Seneweb, TheCable and our own coverage of the campaign and the vote.
Frequently asked questions
What was the result of the Guinea-Bissau referendum?
Provisional results give the new constitution 70% in favour and 30% against. The National Electoral Commission announced them on Tuesday, September 1.
How many people voted?
Some 544,060 people voted, almost 60% of the roughly 915,000 registered voters. During the vote the commission had estimated turnout above 55%.
What does the new constitution change?
It moves the country from a parliamentary to a presidential system. The president may appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet, create or abolish ministries, and dissolve parliament in a grave political crisis. Parliament shrinks from 102 seats to 65.
Why did the opposition object?
Opposition parties called for a boycott, and the PAIGC argued the text would weaken the prime minister, the government, political parties and the legislature. Its leader said the referendum’s backers wanted to “kill our freedom and bury our democracy”.
When is the election?
A presidential and general election is scheduled for December. It is meant to end the transition that followed last November’s coup.
Connected Coverage
Read this with our Western Africa coverage and the wider Africa: The New Scramble. We reported on the referendum itself at the weekend, and earlier on how the campaign alarmed civil society.
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