In Guinea, the new Constitution proposed by Guinean President Alpha Condé was approved in a referendum of March 22 boycotted by the opposition who saw it as a ploy of the Head of State to stay in power, said on Friday March 27 electoral commission.

The proposal received 91.59% of "yes" and 8.41% of "no", for an estimated participation rate of 61%, commission chairman Amadou Salifou Kébé told reporters.

The project lent to President Condé to run for a third term at the end of 2020, at 82 and the new Constitution which should help him, according to the opposition, are at the heart of a political crisis which has left dozens dead since mid-October.

Deadly violence

The constitutional referendum was itself marred by violence which left dozens dead on the day of its holding last Sunday and the following days in Conakry and the provinces, according to the opposition. The authorities recognize some dead while assuring that the consultation took place serenely.

The referendum resulted in deadly inter-community clashes, attacks on Christian churches and mosques, and rampage in Nzérékoré (south), one of the country's largest cities.

The conditions under which the referendum and the legislative elections which took place simultaneously took place have been criticized by the United States, France and European diplomacy.

"Modern" constitution

Alpha Condé was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2015. The current Constitution limits the number of terms to two, the new one proposed by Alpha Condé as well, while increasing the duration to six years.

Alpha Condé, former historic opponent who has become the first democratically elected president after decades of authoritarian regimes, assures us that it is a question of endowing his country with a "modern" Constitution which, for example, would prohibit female circumcision and the marriage of minors . He maintains ambiguity about his personal ambitions, which are no doubt for his opponents.

For them, the new Constitution will allow Alpha Condé to reset his presidential counter to zero and to follow in the footsteps of other African leaders who have bent the fundamental law to their personal aspirations. They denounce the "dictatorial" drift of Alpha Condé and a constitutional "coup".

With AFP

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