By RFIPosted on 19-12-2019Changed on 19-12-2019 at 23:03

In an address to the nation this Thursday evening December 19, Guinean President Alpha Condé announced his intention to submit the draft new Constitution to a referendum, despite the hostility of the opposition and civil society.

No date has been announced for this vote, but the head of state said that the text of this new constitution is already drafted. It was handed over to the Minister of Justice after validation by the Parliament and the Constitutional Court.

" For some time, the debate on the opportunity, the need to endow the Republic of Guinea with a new Constitution to replace that of May 7, 2010 has been learned in our country , explained Alpha Condé . In view of the fundamental nature and having regard to the recommendations expressed by the head of government, I instructed the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, in charge of relations with republican institutions, to take the measures to draw up a draft Constitution in the meaning of the recommendations made by all the actors who took part in the consultations . "

"In-depth explanations"

" After examining the draft Constitution by the Constitutional Court and receiving its assent, I decided to make the content of the text public, " continued the Guinean president. This project will be widely popularized before its adoption by the sovereign people. I instructed the Minister of State, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, and all the other ministerial departments concerned to organize in-depth explanations on the main articulations of the draft new Constitution. This must allow the population to appropriate the content and to be able to express themselves for or against with full knowledge of the facts. "

Alpha Condé, elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2015, once again refrained from declaring, during a televised speech, whether he intended to run for his own succession at the end of 2020 at the end of his current mandate, as the intention is largely attributed to him. For weeks, Guinea has been the scene of mass demonstrations against a revision of the Constitution .

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