Guinea’s military-led government is seeking to amend the country’s constitution to extend presidential terms from five to seven years while maintaining a two-term limit, according to a draft document scheduled for a national referendum in September.
The proposed changes were presented last Thursday to General Mamadi Doumbouya, who leads the junta that overthrew former President Alpha Conde in 2021 — part of a wave of recent military takeovers in West Africa.
The draft constitution did not clarify whether General Doumbouya would be eligible to contest in the next presidential election once democratic governance is restored.
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Officials say the planned referendum is intended to lay the groundwork for a return to constitutional rule, although critics note that the junta has imposed significant restrictions on civil liberties since assuming power.
General Mamadi Doumbouya had earlier promised that he would not participate in any upcoming presidential election, with the junta’s initial post-coup road map explicitly prohibiting its members from contesting future polls.
However, in recent weeks, several prominent allies of the military leadership have openly declared their support for his potential candidacy.
The newly proposed constitution also seeks to grant African languages equal status with French as official languages, and includes a provision mandating that at least 30 percent of positions in elected offices and public leadership roles be reserved for women.
Although the junta had pledged, under mounting international pressure, to restore democratic governance by the end of last year, that transition remains unfulfilled.