Gambiaj.com – (BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau) – The National Transitional Council (NTC), which currently exercises parliamentary authority in Guinea-Bissau, has approved a new Constitution that significantly expands the powers of the President of the Republic, making the office the sole head of state and government.
The Constitution, approved on Tuesday, will come into force once it is promulgated by the Transitional President and officially published. It replaces the framework adopted three decades ago, which established a semi-presidential system with a clearer separation of powers between the presidency and the government.
Under the new constitutional order, the President of the Republic will serve simultaneously as head of state and head of government, leading the executive branch and presiding over the Council of Ministers. The president will also appoint the prime minister, ministers, and other members of the executive.
Speaking to journalists, Fernando Vaz, spokesperson for the National Transitional Council, said the 2026 Constitution reinforces presidential authority while maintaining the formal structure of a semi-presidential system.
“In this 2026 Constitution, the President of the Republic, in addition to the functions of Head of State, will also become Head of Government. He will lead the Executive and preside over the Council of Ministers,” Vaz said.
“Another innovation is that the President will coordinate and guide the actions of the ministers. The Prime Minister will be subordinate to the President, that is, he will comply with the orders and guidelines issued by the Head of State.”
Despite the concentration of power in the presidency, Vaz noted that the government will retain what he described as “dual political responsibility,” remaining accountable both to the President of the Republic and to the legislature.
As part of the constitutional changes, the National Transitional Council also approved the renaming of the National People’s Assembly, which will now be known simply as the National Assembly.
The revised Constitution also removes what Vaz described as “ideological and revolutionary expressions” from its preamble.
“We purged the Constitution of its ideological and revolutionary content because it is the Constitution of all Guineans, not the Constitution of a particular party,” he said.
The constitutional overhaul comes less than two months after a military takeover on November 26, 2025, which occurred three days after general elections were held and just one day before the official results were due to be announced.
The National Transitional Council has been governing the country since the takeover, overseeing what it describes as a transitional political process.
