Guinea’s interim parliament proposed that presidential term limits be extended, months before the country is scheduled to hold elections after four years of military rule.

The National Transitional Council wants the West African nation’s constitution to allow the president to serve for seven years, instead of five, with a limit of two terms, Speaker Dansa Kourouma told reporters in the capital, Conakry, on Sunday. The proposal will be put to a referendum in September.

“A five-year term could prove too short to allow for the implementation of a real development programme,” he said.

Guinea has been ruled by General Mamadi Doumbouya since September 2021, when he ousted the government of former President Alpha Conde. The putsch followed a change to the constitution that extended the presidential term to six years from five years and allowed Conde to seek a third term.

The proposed changes to the constitution were handed to Doumbouya last week, though they’ve yet to be made public. They’re expected to be published in the Government Gazette before the September 21 referendum.

Guinea is the world’s biggest exporter of bauxite, a raw material used to make aluminium. The country is also home to Simandou, the world’s largest untapped iron-ore reserve, which London-based Rio Tinto and China-backed Winning Consortium Simandou are preparing to deliver from this year.