Guinea Junta Leader Mamadi Doumbouya
Daniel Otera
General Mamadi Doumbouya has formally declared his intention to run for president in Guinea’s upcoming election scheduled for December 28. This move comes amid efforts to restore constitutional order following the 2021 military coup that brought him to power.
Despite initially promising a swift return to civilian governance, General Doumbouya has ruled the West African nation with a firm grip since September 2021. He arrived at the Supreme Court in an armoured vehicle, surrounded by special forces, and submitted his candidacy without making any public statement. Thousands of supporters, who arrived in the capital by bus from across the country, gathered outside the court to endorse his entry into the race.
Guinea, a country struggling with poverty and a history of violent coups, had experienced a brief period of democratic progress after the 2010 election of Alpha Conde, the nation’s first freely elected president. That era ended when Doumbouya seized control, ending Conde’s rule.
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The upcoming elections are intended to mark a return to constitutional civilian rule after four years of military governance. A new constitution, approved by 89 percent of voters in September, allows the current junta leader to legally contest the presidency. However, opposition parties condemned the referendum as a “charade” designed to legitimize Doumbouya’s hold on power and urged voters to boycott the process.
Since assuming power, the junta has curtailed civil liberties sharply. Demonstrations are banned, opposition figures have been arrested, prosecuted, or forced into exile, and media outlets face suspension. Several journalists have also been detained in connection with the political unrest.
Other candidates have also registered to run, including Makale Camara, former foreign minister and president of the National Alliance Front party. Camara dismissed criticism that opposition candidates’ participation merely serves to create a false sense of legitimacy, describing such views as “narrow-minded.”