Equatorial Guinea held a referendum on constitutional changes on Sunday which rights groups said were an attempt by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo to strengthen his 32-year grip on power in the central African oil producer.

Obiang's government has billed the reform as a democratic advance, highlighting a clause which will put future limits on the number of terms a president can serve. The government website contains a short three-point summary of the changes.

But New York-based Human Rights Watch and local group EG Justice said the full text of the proposals includes measures such as removing an existing age limit that would have stopped 69-year-old Obiang running for a new term after the age of 75.

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