BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau - Voters in Guinea-Bissau went to the polls on Sunday for a constitutional referendum that could expand presidential powers and trim the size of parliament, in a vote overshadowed by a military takeover last year and a boycott call from the opposition.
The proposed constitution would give the president greater authority over the prime minister and reduce the National People's Assembly from 102 seats to 65. Backers argue that the changes would reduce institutional conflict and make the system easier to govern. Critics say the plan would weaken elected institutions and entrench the military-backed transitional authorities.
Turnout appeared low in many polling stations, according to the report, after opposition groups urged citizens to stay away. They said the initiative was less about democratic renewal than about consolidating power after the November 2025 coup, when the military seized control following a disputed election.
The vote is taking place as Guinea-Bissau prepares for December's general election, which authorities say will restore constitutional rule. That timetable has become one of the few fixed points in a political transition that remains contested by opposition leaders, analysts and some ordinary voters.
Gen. Tomás Djassi, the head of the armed forces, defended the redesign as a way to remove confusion between the offices of president and prime minister. Opposition figures answered that the proposal would do the opposite by diminishing parliament, shrinking the space for parties and centralizing power around the military-backed presidency.
The stakes are large in a country that has been marked by repeated coups and attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1973. The AP account described a state where political instability, weak institutions and the drug trade have long overlapped. Guinea-Bissau is one of West Africa's smallest countries, but it occupies an outsized place in regional concerns about democratic backsliding and trafficking routes between Latin America and Europe.
Nearly 915,000 people are registered to vote. Yet the referendum debate has clearly not reached everyone. One resident told AP she intended to vote no because she did not know the new constitution well enough to support it. Another said the transitional government should focus on reconciliation rather than constitutional change.
The referendum therefore looks less like a technical legal exercise than a test of whether the current authorities can claim a public mandate for a new political order. If approved, the draft would rewrite how power is shared at the top of the state. If rejected, it would deepen questions about the legitimacy of the transitional government and its timetable back to civilian rule. Either way, the result will shape December's election and the next phase of Guinea-Bissau's fragile transition.
