Guinea delays referendum for a second time

Guinea has delayed a controversial referendum for a second time.

President Alpha Condé initially delayed it last month saying there would be a "slight postponement" because of concerns about the fairness of the process.

Voters were also due to elect members of parliament this coming Sunday.

But the electoral commission said there had to be another postponement as it was awaiting a report from the West African body Ecowas.

It sent a delegation last week to investigate the electoral process, in particular the electoral roll, reports the BBC's West Africa reporter Chi Chi Izundu.

In February, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), a grouping of French-speaking nations, said there were problems identifying around 2.5 million names listed on the electoral roll.

There have been months of often violent demonstrations against the referendum.

If passed it would allow the 82-year-old president to seek a third term in office.

The proposed constitution does not scrap term limits - a president would still only be able to serve two terms - though the length of a term would be extended from five to six years.

However, the adoption of the new constitution would mean that the time Mr Condé has already served would not count - and his second term comes to an end in December.

Mr Condé has not said he intends to run again, but his party has not denied that the new constitution would allow him to do so.

The government says the constitution is in need of a revamp as the current one was written during a time of military rule between 2008 and 2010.

The proposed one also has many laws aimed at improving gender equality in the mainly Muslim nation - it would ban female genital mutilation (FGM), as well as outlawing underage and forced marriages.

It also states that no one gender would make up more than two-thirds of government institutions. But a coalition opposing the move argues all such reforms could be done through parliament.