Guineans flocked on Sunday to vote on a draft constitution that would pave the way for elections but also allow the junta leader who seized power four years ago to run for president.

After a day's voting watched over by a hefty security presence, the west African nation's polling stations shut on Sunday evening, drawing a long-awaited referendum boycotted by the opposition to a close.

Sunday's vote opens the way for elections stalled since General Mamady Doumbouya overthrew elected civilian president Alpha Conde in 2021. In that time, Doumbouya's junta has ramped up pressure on the opposition, with many critics fleeing abroad.

"This is what everyone is waiting for," one voter, 23-year-old student Ahmad Diallo, told AFP at a school in the capital's Kaloum district.

"To have peace, and w

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