Conakry,
GUINEA
Guineans will be called
to vote Sunday on whether to adopt a new constitution, after months of
protests.
The
government says the draft constitution will, among other things, codify gender
equality and ban female circumcision and under-age marriage in the West African
state.
But
critics fear the real motive is to reset presidential term limits, allowing
Conde, 81, to run for a third spell in office later this year.
The
vote is taking place against a background of tension and violence.
Guineans
have protested en-masse since mid-October, in rallies that have led to the
deaths of 30 demonstrators and one gendarme, according to an AFP tally.
Guinea
is an impoverished but mineral-rich nation of some 13 million people who hail
from several ethnic groups, and the tensions have stoked concern of violence.
This
week, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), gathering
French-speaking states, said it had problems with 2.49 million out of the 7.7
million names on the electoral roll. - Africa
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