The new Constitution proposed by Guinean President Alpha Condé received more than 90% of "yes" during the referendum of March 22 boycotted by the opposition who sees it as a ploy of the Head of State to stay in power, said Friday the electoral commission.
Read also: Guinea plagued by renewed violence
The proposal received 91.59% of "yes" and 8.41% of "no", for an estimated participation rate of 61%, the chairman of the commission, Amadou Salifou Kébé, told reporters. The project lent to President Condé to run for a third term at the end of 2020, at 82 and the new Constitution which should help him, according to the opposition, are at the heart of a political crisis which has left dozens dead since mid-October.
The constitutional referendum was itself marred by violence which left dozens dead on the day of its holding last Sunday and the following days in Conakry and the provinces, according to the opposition. The authorities recognize some dead while assuring that the consultation took place serenely.
The referendum resulted in deadly inter-community clashes, attacks on Christian churches and mosques, and rampage in Nzérékoré (south), one of the country's largest cities.