Guinea: coupling of the constitutional referendum with the legislative elections of March 1

Text by: RFI Follow

After announcing the postponement of the legislative elections to March 1, the presidency announced Tuesday evening that the election would be coupled with a constitutional referendum.

Publicity

The possibility of a referendum has pushed Guineans to take to the streets in recent months. Many opponents and activists fear that it is a simple maneuver to allow President Alpha Condé to seek a third term, which the current Constitution prevents him from doing.

For the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, the spearhead of the dispute, the decision to couple the referendum shows how far Alpha Condé is ready to go to stay in power. The coupling would be, according to Abduramane Sanoh, coordinator of the FNDC, only the last part of what he still calls and always, a " constitutional coup d'état ".

" It's a tip to bring more people to the polls," said Abduramane Sanoh. The legislative elections are presented as an opportunity, a springboard to pass the referendum. As soon as people agree to vote for the legislative elections, we will consider that the same people will have voted for the referendum . "

" What is going to be simple for the authorities is to give a result at the finish which should say that the majority voted for the new Constitution. The stake for him, it is not the legislative ones but by training people in the legislative ones and by making the coupling, it is to make vote for a new Constitution. This would allow him to put everything flat and stand for the next presidential election. "

Power puts forward practical reasons

But the authorities do not hear it in the same way. For Papa Koly Kourouma, the campaign director of the presidential movement, practical reasons justify this coupling. “ Economically, it will cost less and it will facilitate the mobilization of activists. We don't have two campaigns to do. Activists are mobilized for two polls at the same time. "

Papa Koly Kourouma ensures that " this is not a political maneuver " and that despite their coupling, these are two independent ballots from one another. “ People are free to choose. This is why besides, one says "to couple". It is not the same elections, they are different ballot boxes. So has the choice to go or not to go. "

It remains to be seen how many Guineans will go to the polls on March 1, and how many fingers they will dive into the ink pot.

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• Guinea
• Alpha Condé

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