Guinea junta leader declared winner of presidential election
Mamdi Doumbouya secured almost 87% of the vote, while several opposition figures were either barred from contesting or were in exile. Doumbouya seized power after staging a coup in 2021.
Guinea's military leader Mamdi Doumbouya, was declared the winner of the presidential election held over the weekend, provisional results showed today (30 December).
Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in 2021, won 86.72% of the vote, according to the General Directorate of Elections.
He was widely expected to win the election.
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Major opposition figures were either barred or were in exile, leaving a fragmented field with no strong challengers. Opposition leaders had called for a boycott of the vote.
The election is widely seen as an effort to legitimize Doumbouya's stay in power
Ahead of Sunday's vote, analysts said a weakened opposition all but ensured Doumbouya's victory, with the election widely seen as an effort to legitimize his hold on power.
The election commission said turnout was 80.95%, a figure disputed by opposition groups.
Yero Balde, a former government minister, came a distant second with 6.51% of the vote.
Opposition decries 'electoral charade'
Doumbouya came to power in the mineral-rich but impoverished west African nation in a 2021 coup that ousted former President Alpha Conde.
After initially ruling out a run for office and promising a return to civilian rule by the end of 2024, Doumbouya reversed course after a new constitution in September lifted the ban on military officers seeking office and extended presidential terms to seven years.
Civil liberties advocates have raised concerns over a crackdown on protesters and a deterioration in press freedom under Doumbouya's rule.
A citizen's collective, the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, said many voters stayed away from the "electoral charade."
Africa grapples with a spate of coups
The vote was held in the backdrop of a spate of coups or coup attempts in Africa, with military officers having taken on popular discontent with deteriorating security, underwhelming economies or disputed elections to seize power.
