Guinea-Bissau vote backs stronger presidency

Guinea-Bissau's electoral commission has validated final results from a constitutional referendum in which voters backed giving the president greater power.

The National Electoral Commission said no appeals had been filed, making the August 30 results final. It upheld previously announced figures showing 70 percent voted yes, 30 percent voted no and turnout was 63 percent.

The referendum came less than 10 months after the military seized power and months before a December 6 presidential election intended to restore civilian rule.

Under the new text, Guinea-Bissau will abandon a system in which the prime minister came from the parliamentary majority. The president will be able to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and government members, and dissolve parliament.

The junta says the change will stabilise institutions before the election. The opposition had urged voters to boycott the referendum, citing what it called restrictions on public freedoms. Parts of the political class and civil society opposed the constitutional rewrite by an unelected transitional government.

The army took power in November days after a presidential election, overthrowing then-president Umaro Sissoco Embalo and suspending the electoral process. Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a series of attempted coups since 1974.