Guinea’s junta leader Mamady Doumbouya, who had promised not to seek elected office after taking power four years ago, has been declared president after winning a landslide victory, according to provisional results released Tuesday by the country’s election commission.
The 41-year-old former general contested the race against eight other candidates, although leading opposition figures were disqualified from participating and had called on voters to boycott the weekend election.
By entering the contest, Doumbouya abandoned his earlier commitment not to run and to restore civilian rule in the resource-rich but impoverished West African state by the end of 2024.
According to the General Directorate of Elections, he secured 86.72 percent of votes cast in the first round, comfortably above the margin required to avoid a second ballot.
Turnout was put at 80.95 percent, said Djenabou Toure, head of the General Directorate of Elections.
Partial official results previously broadcast on state television RTG showed Doumbouya dominating voting in districts across the capital, Conakry, where he often polled more than 80 percent.
Comparable margins were also recorded in areas near the capital such as Coyah, as well as in Boffa and Fria in the west, Gaoual in the northwest, the northern regions of Koundara and Labe, and Nzerekore in the southeast.
The figures were disputed by a civil society coalition demanding a return to democratic governance.
“A huge majority of Guineans chose to boycott the electoral charade,” the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution said in a statement on Monday.
Doumbouya came to power in September 2021 after leading a coup that removed Alpha Conde, Guinea’s first democratically elected president.
Since then, his administration has imposed restrictions on civil freedoms, outlawed demonstrations and seen critics arrested, prosecuted or forced into exile.
Candidate Abdoulaye Yero Balde alleged “serious irregularities” in the process, accusing authorities of denying his observers access to vote-counting centres and pointing to reports of “ballot stuffing” in certain locations.
Another contender, Faya Millimono, described what he called “electoral banditry”, which he claimed was linked to pressure exerted on voters.
The election followed the adoption of a new constitution approved by referendum in late September, which allowed members of the ruling junta to contest elections, clearing the path for Doumbouya’s candidacy.
The revised constitution also extended presidential terms from five to seven years, renewable once.
Prominent opposition leader and former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo was among three figures barred from running under the new rules.
Diallo was excluded because he lives in exile and his principal residence is outside Guinea, while former president Conde and ex-prime minister Sidya Toure were disqualified for exceeding the newly imposed maximum age limit of 80.
What you should know
Mamady Doumbouya’s election marks a significant turning point in Guinea’s post-coup transition, as a military leader consolidates power through the ballot after reshaping the constitutional framework.
While authorities cite high turnout and a decisive mandate, opposition groups and civil society question the credibility of the process, pointing to disqualifications, alleged irregularities and restrictions on political freedoms.
The new constitution has altered term limits and eligibility rules, reshaping Guinea’s political landscape and raising concerns about the durability of democratic governance under former junta leadership.
