Guinea-Bissau approves new constitution that expands presidential powers

September 3, 2026

4 minutes read

• Transitional President Gen Horta N'Tam's military government proposed the changes

Guinea-Bissau has approved a new ‌constitution in a referendum, provisional results showed on Tuesday, expanding presidential powers and reshaping electoral rules ahead of a presidential election scheduled for December.

The West African country, led by military officers who seized power in a coup last November, voted on Sunday on reforms allowing the president to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet, create or abolish ministries and dissolve parliament in ⁠the event of a grave political crisis.

Under the current constitution, Guinea-Bissau’s legislature names a prime minister who appoints a cabinet.

The result gives the military government backing to reshape Guinea-Bissau’s political system before the presidential election, but the main opposition party boycotted the vote.

The new constitution was approved by 70 per cent of voters in favour and 30 per cent opposed, according to the provisional results announced by the National Electoral Commission.

It also said some 544,060 people had voted, almost 60 per cent of registered voters.

Polling stations in the capital Bissau were largely empty on Sunday, a Reuters witness said, while some residents ‌told ⁠local media they had not known the referendum was being held or did not understand its purpose.

Guinea-Bissau’s main opposition PAIGC party urged its supporters to boycott the referendum, saying the process lacked adequate political and institutional safeguards.

PAIGC leader Domingos Simoes Pereira said in a video message that the backers of the referendum sought to “kill ⁠our freedom and bury our democracy.”

A spokesperson for the military government could not be reached for comment.

The constitution will cut the size of parliament to 65 seats from 102 and reduce the number of electoral constituencies’ ⁠to 12 from 29.

It further requires presidential candidates to have lived continuously in Guinea-Bissau for the preceding five years.

The coup last year was the ninth in West and Central Africa over five ⁠years and part of a cycle of instability in Guinea-Bissau. The country is widely known as a cocaine trafficking hub and has a long history of military interventions.-Reuters

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Transitional President Gen Horta N’Tam’s military government proposed the changes

Zambia’s president sworn in for second term

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has been sworn in for a second five-year term following a disputed election and the arrest of his main opponent on treason charges.

Hichilema, credited with stabilising the economy, swept to victory on August 13 with 60 per cent of the vote, according to official results. Runner-up Brian Mundubile, who received 38 per cent, alleged that the outcome had been tampered with.

He was unable to mount a legal challenge to the result as the courts were sealed off last week on the final day a case could be filed.

Election observers said that while polling day was largely peaceful, some have raised questions about the vote tallying process.

European Union observers said staff in many tallying centres did not record results on tally sheets as soon as they were announced and cited weak verification between digital entries and paper records.

It added that returning officers frequently paused proceedings while awaiting instructions from headquarters.

The day after the poll, security forces raided a property in the capital, Lusaka, linked to Mundubile, killing a former cabinet minister and arresting a number of opposition politicians.

The authorities accused the opposition of planning an armed insurrection, which they denied.

Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, had gone into hiding. They were detained by police last week and charged at the weekend.

During his inauguration speech on Tuesday, Hichilema did not comment on his opponent’s detention but said that the “pursuit of political power must never come at the expense of peace, security and stability in our country”.

“Democracy does not require us to agree on everything. It requires us to respect one another even when we disagree,” Hichilema added.

He also invited the opposition to work with his government for the good of the country: “When you have a good idea, we will listen to you.”

He was sworn into office amid jubilant scenes, as thousands of supporters gathered to celebrate the inauguration. His running mate Mutale Nalumango was also sworn in as vice-president.

Presidents from Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Tanzania were among several African leaders attending the inauguration ceremony at the National Heroes Stadium in the capital.

When Hichilema, 64, came into office in 2021 after a landslide victory, the copper-rich nation had recently defaulted on its international debt and had an annual inflation rate of more than 24 per cent.

“We inherited a broken-down country… the economy was declining,” Hichilema told the BBC in Lusaka before the election.

The former businessman negotiated a restructuring of the debt and rebuilt relations with foreign creditors. Inflation has also come down, but prices are still rising and many continue to struggle with the cost of living.

Hichilema now wants to build on the foundations he said he laid over the past five years.

“We are moving from stabilisation to growth,” the president said in his inauguration in speech.

“Having done the heavy lifting in our first term, the next five years is all about growth and prosperity for all our people. I will continue to be a servant president for all the people of Zambia,” he added.

With a recent rise in the price of copper, which the World Bank says accounts for about 15 per cent of GDP and more than 70 per cent of exports, investors remain confident and appear ready to overlook post-election issues, the Bloomberg news agency reports.-BBC

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President Hakainde Hichilema taking the oath of office

Bus crash on Egypt’s Red Sea coast kills 22

At least 22 people have been killed in a bus crash in eastern Egypt, the country’s health ministry has said.

Another 28 people were injured on the road between Red Sea towns of Dahab and Nuweiba in the South Sinai governorate on Wednesday morning.

Reports in Egyptian and Jordanian media say as many as 10 Jordanian nationals were among those killed in the accident.

The cause of the crash remains unknown.

The area is a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors from around the world.

It is unclear how many people were on board at the time of the crash.

In a statement, the Egyptian health ministry said all the injured people were being treated in three different hospitals.

Deadly road accidents are common across Egypt, with the authorities reporting nearly 6,000 fatalities in 2025.

Such accidents are often blamed on reckless driving and poor road maintenance.