The President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, has announced that he will go ahead with a contested plan to revise Guinea’s constitution next month. The referendum would be held simultaneously with legislative elections on March 1.

Why This Matters

If approved by voters, the referendum would allow Mr Alpha Condé to seek another term in office. He became president in December 2010 as the first freely elected president in the country’s history. Unfortunately, while Conde came into power as a democratically elected president, he appears to be sliding towards authoritarianism.

Implications

If the referendum goes through, Guinea may see its political history of repression repeat itself. Political violence can also be expected, exemplified by the hundreds of thousands of people who have demonstrated against this change in the constitution. At least 28 civilians and one gendarme have been killed in the since the protests began.

Opposition parties have already said they will boycott the elections but the presidency appears to be unbothered about this announcement. Do they have other plans? Presidential Adviser, Souleymane Keita, has insisted that the vote will go ahead regardless of an opposition boycott.

The EU and US have advised Guinea to employ dialogue instead and respect the democratic transition of power.

“The decision to couple the parliamentary elections of 1 March 2020 with a constitutional referendum deeply divide(s) the country,” the EU said.

It remains to see whether President Alpha Condé will pay heed to the statements from the US secretary of state and the EU.