Which institutional reforms for Guinea-Bissau?

The document argues that Guinea-Bissau requires comprehensive institutional reforms to prevent political blockages and ensure stability. Key recommendations include revising the Constitution to clarify the powers of the President and Prime Minister, strengthening the National Electoral Commission, updating the 1991 Framework Law on Political Parties to increase transparency and gender representation, restarting the Justice Reform Programme (2015–2019), and relaunching dialogue on defence and security sector reform (DSSR).

• The current Constitution of Guinea-Bissau lacks clarity regarding the roles and powers of state organs, necessitating a new version to prevent political blockages and improve service delivery.
• To reduce governmental instability, the Constitution should specify the criteria for the President to dissolve the government and clarify the meaning of a 'serious crisis impeding the normal functioning of institutions'.
• Electoral reforms are needed to improve poll integrity and transparency, including strengthening the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and allowing the publication of results from individual polling stations.
• The 1991 Framework Law on Political Parties is poorly enforced and requires revision to regulate public financing, cap campaign spending, and ensure a mandatory 30% quota for women on legislative and local election lists.
• The Justice Reform Programme (2015–2019) has been stalled by political crisis and must be restarted to establish an independent justice system, including a new Constitutional Court and a more autonomous Court of Auditors.
• Defence and security sector reform (DSSR) has faced persistent obstacles for nearly two decades; progress requires a restart of dialogue between military forces, civil society, and the National Assembly, as well as the resumption of the Security Sector Reform steering committee.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2018). Which institutional reforms for Guinea-Bissau? https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-6-eng.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Which institutional reforms for Guinea-Bissau? 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-6-eng.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Which institutional reforms for Guinea-Bissau? |date=May 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-6-eng.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2018which, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Which institutional reforms for Guinea-Bissau?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-6-eng.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }