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Guineans voted on Sunday to choose a new president in the country’s first election since a 2021 coup, as analysts say a weakened opposition will result in a likely win for junta leader Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya.
Sunday’s election was the culmination of a transition process that began four years ago after Doumbouya ousted President Alpha Condé. The junta leader has proceeded to clamp down on the main opposition and dissent, critics say, leaving him with no major opposition among the eight other candidates in the race.
Despite Guinea’s rich mineral resources — including as the world’s biggest exporter of bauxite, used to make aluminum — more than half of its 15 million people are experiencing record levels of poverty and food insecurity, according to the World Food Program.
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“This vote is the hope of young people, especially for us unemployed,” said Idrissa Camara, an 18-year-old resident of Conakry, who said he has been unemployed since graduating from university five years ago. “I’m forced to do odd jobs to survive. I hope this vote will improve the standard of living and the quality of life in Guinea,” he added.
While voting was largely smooth across the country, the voter turnout was low in many polling stations due in part to opposition parties who were not on the ballot calling on voters to boycott the election.
Voting officially closed at 7 p.m. local time as electoral officials started counting votes across the polling units. The election results are expected within 48 hours and there will be a runoff if no candidate wins a majority of the votes.
The election was held under a new constitution that revoked a ban on military leaders running for office and extended the presidential mandate from five to seven years. That constitution was overwhelmingly approved in a September referendum despite opposition parties asking voters to boycott it.
The vote is the latest such election among African countries that have seen a surge in coups in recent years. At least 10 countries in the young continent have experienced soldiers forcefully taking power after 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 Guinea political analyst Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité. “Doumbouya is undoubtedly the favorite in this presidential election because the main opposition political parties have been sidelined and the General Directorate of Elections, the body that oversees the presidential election, is under the supervision of the government.”
