In Guinea, strong support for longer presidential term

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Official results from last Sunday's constitutional referendum have shown that Guineans overwhelmingly supported an amendment giving the president two more years in office.

According to the results announced by the country's independent electoral authority, nearly 92% of voters in Guinea voted in favor of extending the presidential term from five to seven years.

Out of 3.1 million valid votes cast, 2.8 million people said "Yes", representing 91.59% while 262,185 people, representing 8.41% voted "No", the Electoral Commission tally showed.

Critics accuse President Alpha Conde of planning to use the constitutional referendum to extend his stay in power.

Conde, 82, whose second and final term ends in December, was constitutionally barred from running for a third term.

The amendment potentially enables Conde to govern for 14 more years as president if he seeks to re-run.

He has not clearly indicated his interests in running again, only insisting in media interviews that the decision lies in the hands of his party.

The election was marred by violence in different parts of the country, including the capital Conakry, following protests by a group that had heeded the opposition’s call to boycott the election.