Guinea’s junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya officially submits his candidacy for December presidential elections, seeking to extend his rule
CONAKRY: Guinea’s junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya officially entered the country’s presidential race on Monday by submitting his candidacy to the Supreme Court.
The December 28 elections aim to restore constitutional order following the 2021 coup that brought Doumbouya to power.
Doumbouya has ruled the West African nation with an iron fist since first seizing control despite initially promising to return the government to civilian rule.
He arrived and left the Supreme Court in an armoured vehicle surrounded by special forces without making any public statement.
Thousands of supporters from across Guinea travelled to the capital by bus and gathered outside the court ahead of his official submission.
Impoverished Guinea has long experienced coups and violence from authoritarian regimes throughout its history.
The country enjoyed a period of democratic transition after the November 2010 election of longtime opposition figure Alpha Conde as its first freely elected president.
That democratic period ended when Doumbouya seized power in September 2021 and overthrew President Conde.
Guineans and the international community have been demanding these elections to return the nation of 14.5 million people to constitutional order after four years of military rule.
Guineans approved a new constitution at the end of September that both paved the way for elections and permitted Doumbouya to run for president.
Guinea’s opposition had urged voters to stay home and denounced the referendum as a “charade” for the junta to maintain its hold on power.
Guineans nevertheless flooded to the polls and overwhelmingly chose to implement the constitution with 89% supporting the charter according to official results.
Since coming to power, Doumbouya, who is in his 40s, has significantly restricted freedoms across the country.
The junta has banned demonstrations and arrested, prosecuted or forced into exile several opposition leaders, with some becoming victims of forced disappearances.
Several media outlets have also been suspended and journalists arrested under Doumbouya’s rule.
Several other candidates officially submitted their applications on Monday including National Alliance Front party president Makale Camara, a former foreign affairs minister.
Camara called criticism that she and other candidates were being allowed to run only to give the election a patina of authenticity a “narrow-minded view”. – AFP
