Opposition anger as Guinea’s junta leader is frontrunner to be elected president | Guinea

In September 2021, a tall young colonel in the Guinean army announced that he and his comrades had seized power by force and overthrew long-time leader Alpha Condé.

In her speech, Mamady Doumbouya emphasized that the soldiers acted to reestablish the will of the people and said, “The will of the strongest has always superseded the law.”

Soon after, Doumbouya announced a 36-month timeline for the transition to civilian rule in the resource-rich West African nation on the Atlantic coast, ignoring pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which wants a quicker return to democracy. His actions sparked widespread protests and criticism from opposition groups and civil society; many of whom doubted his promise not to run for office in person.

On Sunday, 6.7 million voters in Guinea will go to the polls in the first presidential election since the 2021 coup. The nine candidates include former minister Abdoulaye Yéro Baldé of the Guinean Democratic Front and former junta supporter-turned-critic Faya Millimono of the Liberal Bloc party.

But Doumbouya emerged as the clear front-runner, thanks to a controversial referendum in September that gave him the right to run for office and led to the adoption of a new constitution that extended presidential terms from five to seven years.

The opposition coalition Forces vives de Guinée described his candidacy as a betrayal. “The man who presented himself as the restorer of democracy chose to be its gravedigger,” he said. A statement made last month This is after Doumbouya officially declared his intention to run for the high court.

Political turmoil has been a recurring feature in West Africa, which has earned the nickname “coup belt” after seven successful coups and many failed attempts since 2020. While Guinea remains under the Ecowas umbrella, fellow juntas angered by post-coup sanctions in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger left the regional bloc to form the pro-Russian Alliance of Sahel States (AES). If this happens, Guinea’s elections would be the first in junta-ruled states since 2020.

Many in Guinea believe the general’s victory was a foregone conclusion, given that he has consolidated his power since ascending to the presidency and promoting himself to the rank of general. Even now, the presidential race is important not for those who are on the ballot, but for those who are not.

The largest opposition parties remain suspended, and their most prominent leaders are detained, barred from running, or, like former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo of the League of Democratic Forces of Guinea, in exile. Many say there is a climate of fear in the country due to the junta’s crackdown on its critics, and many dissidents are in prison.

Conversely, Doumbouya pardoned former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the 2009 massacre and gang rape of protesters at a stadium in Conakry, one of Guinea’s most serious human rights atrocities. The amnesty granted before the last hearing took action several human rights groups will write a joint open letter He, along with the families of the victims, called on the junta leader to reconsider. This process is currently pending.

Before the vote, Doumbouya was accumulating goodwill. The shiny new Simandou mine, which has the world’s largest untapped iron ore reserves, opened this month after nearly three decades of delay caused by political instability and corruption. Doumbouya’s government touts the project as a bridge to prosperity for Guinea and a sign of future development. mass job losses and environmental complaints.

Election stakes are high: In the coming years, the multi-layered Simandou mining project, which includes the construction of ports and a railway, is expected to transform the economy of Guinea, where half the population lives on less than $2 a day. Given existential concerns about transparency, many are waiting to see what the winning government will do after the election.

“Our salvation lies in returning to the past [proper] Constitutional order,” said Abdoulaye Koroma, presidential candidate of the Renaissance and Development Rally party.