Guinea votes in first election since 2021 coup

Guinea has begun voting in a presidential election that is expected to give a seven-year term to Mamady ‍Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup.

The former special forces commander, thought to be in his early 40s, faces eight other candidates without a strong opponent in a fragmented field.

Ousted president Alpha Conde and long-time opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo remain in exile.

Voting centers in the West African nation’s capital, Conakry, opened at 7am local time on Sunday, with only slight delays in some cases as small queues waited outside.

Some voters described the election as a formality and the result as a foregone conclusion.

“The most important thing is that the country returns to normal. I am pragmatic. I voted for the person who is in office and ensures the continuity of the state,” shopkeeper Musa Kaba told Reuters.

About 6.7 million people are registered to vote, and polling stations are scheduled to close at 6 p.m., with provisional results expected within 48 to 72 hours after polls close.

Guinea has the world’s largest bauxite reserves and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, which officially became operational in November after years of delay.

Doumbouya deserved credit for moving the project forward and ensuring Guinea benefited from its outcomes.

In 2025, his government also revoked the license of Emirates Global Aluminum subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation following a refinery dispute, transferring the unit’s assets to a state-owned firm.

The turn to resource nationalism, echoed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, has increased its popularity as has its relative youth in a country where the median age is about 19.

A transitional statute adopted after the coup prohibited junta members from participating in elections.

But in September Guineans overwhelmingly supported a new constitution that removed that clause, extended the presidential term to seven years, and created a Senate.

Under Doumbouya, political debate was silenced. Civil society groups accuse his government of banning protests, restricting press freedom and restricting opposition activities.

U.N. rights chief Volker Turk said on Friday that the campaign period was “severely constrained by intimidation by opposition actors, apparently politically motivated enforced disappearances and restrictions on media freedom.”

These conditions “risk undermining the credibility of the electoral process,” the official added.

The government did not respond to a request for comment.