EU Lawmakers Urge Guinea’s Leader to Respect Term Limits
EU Lawmakers Urge Guinea’s Leader to Respect Term Limits
The European Parliament urged Guinean President Alpha Conde to preserve current presidential-term limits, weeks before a controversial referendum on the constitution that’s likely to enable him to extend his 10-year rule.
Guinea’s proposed new constitution would extend the presidential mandate from five to six years, with a two-term limit, and it’s expected that Conde, 81, will use this change to seek a third term in October elections. Under the current constitution no one can exercise more than two presidential mandates, consecutive or not.
The European Parliament “deeply regrets any plans to change the country’s constitutional provisions on presidential term limits,” it said in a resolution on its website.
The West African nation has a history of authoritarian rule. Its first two presidents, Sekou Toure and Lansana Conte, died in office after clinging respectively 26 and 24 years to power. At Conte’s death in 2008, military junta leader Dadis Camara ruled for a year until he was incapacitated by an assassination attempt.
The March 1 referendum is meant to circumvent Guinea’s parliament because the ruling party, the Rally of the Guinean People, doesn’t have the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution, according to the resolution. It’ll be held at the same time as delayed legislative elections.
The main opposition parties, which have held several large-scale protests, have said they’ll boycott the polls.
The remarks come a week after U.S Secretary of State Michael Pompeo voiced concern over the polls and questioned “whether the process will be free, fair, and transparent and accurately reflect the will of all eligible voters.”
The European Union is an important partner for Guinea. From 2014 to 2020, the bloc allocated almost 244 million euros ($265 million) to the impoverished country for institutional reform, modernization of the administration and road projects. Guinea holds the world’s largest deposits of bauxite, a raw material used to make aluminum.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ougna Camara in Conakry at ocamara@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Jacqueline Mackenzie
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