Guinea votes in first election since 2021 coup with junta leader expected to win
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guineans vote Sunday to elect a new president in the country’s first election since 2021 coupAnalysts say a weakened opposition would likely result in a win for junta leader General Mamadi Doumbouya.
Sunday’s elections were the culmination of a transition process that began four years ago after Doumbouya ousted President Alpha Condé. Critics say the junta leader continues to suppress the main opposition and dissidents, leaving him with no significant opposition among the eight other candidates in the race.
On the contrary Guinea According to the World Food Programme, more than half of the 15 million people living in the world’s rich mineral resources, the largest exporter of bauxite (used to make aluminium), live in record poverty and food insecurity.
“This vote is the hope of young people, especially us unemployed people,” said 18-year-old Conakry resident Idrissa Camara, who said he has been unemployed since graduating from university five years ago. “I have to do odd jobs to survive. I hope this vote will improve the standard of living and quality of life in Guinea,” he added.
The election is the last such vote African countries where coups are increasing In recent years. At least 10 countries on the young continent have seen military forces take power, accusing elected leaders of failing to provide good governance and security for citizens.
“This election will open a new page in Guinea’s history and mark the country’s return to the league of nations,” said Guinean political analyst Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité. “Doumbouya is the undoubted favorite in this presidential election because the main opposition political parties have been disabled and the General Directorate of Elections, the body that oversees the presidential election, is under the control of the government,” he added.
Along with a weakened opposition, civil society leaders have been silenced, critics have been kidnapped and the press has been censored in Guinea since the coup, activists and rights groups say. More than 50 political parties It was dissolved last year, despite widespread criticism, in a move that officials claimed was “clearing the political chessboard”.
A total of nine candidates are running in the election, and Doumbouya’s closest rival is the little-known Yero Baldé of the Guinea Democratic Front party, who was education minister under Condé.
Two opposition candidates, former Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté and former government minister Ousmane Kaba, were excluded on technical grounds, while long-time opposition leaders Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Toure were forced into exile.
While Baldé based his campaign on promises of governance reforms, anti-corruption efforts and economic growth, Doumbouya centered around major infrastructure projects and reforms launched since coming to power four years ago.
The junta’s flagship project has been the Simandou iron ore project, a mega-mining project 75% owned by China in the world’s largest iron ore deposit, which started production last month after decades of delays.
Officials say the national development plan tied to the Simandou project aims to create tens of thousands of jobs and diversify the economy through investments in agriculture, education, transportation, technology and healthcare.
“In four years, he (Doumbouya) has introduced the youth of Guinea to information and communication technologies,” said Mamadama Touré, a high school student in Conakry’s capital who wore a T-shirt bearing Doumbouya’s image, referring to digital skills training programs implemented by authorities.
Approximately 6.7 million registered voters are expected to vote at approximately 24,000 polling stations across the country, with results expected within 48 hours. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes, a second round will be held.
Issatou Bah, a 22-year-old student in Conakry, said he was still undecided whether to vote in the elections.
“I am voting for the third time in Guinea, hoping that something will change. But nothing has changed,” Bah said, adding that he hoped the elections would heal “this country that has everything but is struggling to rise.”
