Constitution approved

Some 98 percent of voters at a referendum on Sunday supported the amendment of Guinea's constitution, while 1.64 per cent said "no", according to the official result. The participation rate reported by the government was 87 percent, media and humanitarian sources said. However, BBC reported opposition sources as saying that voter turnout had been less than 20 percent. Media sources had also reported on Monday that the turnout had been low while diplomatic sources said participation was high only in pro-government areas. The proposal to hold the constitutional referendum had been criticised by opposition leaders, international organisations and donor governments. A diplomat told IRIN "in terms of day-to-day life, it [the new constitution] is a non-event" but in the long term, it will become a "threat for democracy". Of the six articles submitted to the vote, articles 24 and 89 appeared to be most controversial. Article 24 changes the presidential mandate from five to seven years, with effect from the end of President Lansana Conte's mandate in 2003, and allow presidents to stay in office indefinitely. Article 89, which relates to decentralisation, stipulates that local government officials will be nominated by the president, instead of being elected. This could have a negative impact on relations between Guinea and organisations like the World Bank and the IMF because decentralisation has become an important criteria in their evaluation of financial aid, the diplomat said. Guinea's constitution was last amended in 1993, after 10 years of military rule under Conte who took power after the death of Guinea's first president, Ahmed Sekou Toure. BBC reported that popular opposition leader Alpha Conde has called for international sanctions to be imposed on the country.