Guinea holds a long-awaited referendum connected Sunday (September 21, 2025) connected a caller constitution that could licence coup person Mamady Doumbouya to tally for President if helium chose to, thing helium vowed not to bash erstwhile helium seized powerfulness successful 2021.
The military-led authorities successful Guinea, which is location to the world's largest reserves of bauxite, already missed a December 31, 2024 deadline it had acceptable itself for a instrumentality to civilian rule. Its statesmanlike predetermination is presently expected to instrumentality spot successful December.
Critics fearfulness the law referendum is the latest effort by a military-run authorities to legitimise its regularisation successful West and Central Africa, wherever 8 coups betwixt 2020 and 2023 reshaped the determination governmental landscape.
While the referendum is seen arsenic a measurement towards elections and the instrumentality to civilian regularisation successful Guinea, Mr. Doumbouya's opponents person criticised it arsenic a powerfulness drawback by him.
Mr. Doumbouya has not said yet whether helium intends to tally for office. A modulation charter adopted by his authorities aft it took powerfulness said junta members would beryllium barred from lasting successful the adjacent election.
The referendum seems apt to walk due to the fact that the 2 main absorption leaders, Cellou Dalein Diallo and deposed erstwhile President Alpha Conde, person called for a boycott of the vote.
Their parties are presently suspended, and Human Rights Watch has accused the authorities of disappearing governmental opponents and arbitrarily suspending media outlets.
The authorities has denied immoderate relation successful disappearances but has vowed to analyse specified allegations.
Voting centres were scheduled to unfastened astatine 7 a.m. (0700 GMT) connected Sunday and adjacent astatine 6 p.m. (1800 GMT). It is unclear erstwhile results are expected.
The caller constitution would lengthen the statesmanlike word from 5 years to seven, renewable once, and make a Senate, with one-third of senators straight appointed by the President.
In the last days of campaigning, the superior Conakry was dotted with tiny achromatic posters featuring the connection "Yes" adjacent to a greenish checkmark.
On Thursday, S&P Global Ratings assigned Guinea its first-ever sovereign rating, B+ with a unchangeable outlook. This makes Guinea the 3rd best-rated system successful West Africa, according to the ratings agency.
It noted, however, that contempt immoderate advancement towards establishing a civilian administration, "social needs are precocious and tensions with the absorption are elevated with accusation of arbitrary arrests and rising unit connected the media".
