Guinea votes in first polls since 2021 coup, military leader likely to win | Elections News

Mamady Doumbouya might win amid accusations of restrictions on the media and the opposition events.

Guinea is holding a presidential election during which incumbent navy chief Normal Mamady Doumbouya, who took energy in a 2021 coup, is broadly anticipated to safe victory.

Some 6.7 million registered voters will go to the polls, which opened at 07:00 GMT on Sunday and can shut at 18:00 GMT.

The previous particular forces commander, aged 41, faces eight different candidates within the election, as ousted President Alpha Conde and longtime opposition chief Cellou Dalein Diallo stay in exile.

The opposition has known as for a boycott of the vote within the mineral-rich nation the place 52 % of the inhabitants lives in poverty, in line with World Financial institution figures.

Whereas lengthy blighted by coups, Guinea skilled a democratic transition with the November 2010 election of Alpha Conde, the nation’s first freely elected president. Doumbouya overthrew him in September 2021.

Below Doumbouya, Guinea successfully “reverted to what it has primarily recognized since independence in 1958: authoritarian regimes, whether or not civilian or navy”, Gilles Yabi, founding father of the West African assume tank Wathi, informed the AFP information company.

Provisional outcomes might be introduced inside two days, in line with Djenabou Toure, head of the Normal Directorate of Elections.

Restrictions on opposition

Political debate has been muted below Doumbouya. Civil society teams accuse his authorities of banning protests, curbing press freedom and proscribing opposition exercise.

The marketing campaign interval “has been severely restricted, marked by intimidation of opposition actors, apparently politically motivated enforced disappearances, and constraints on media freedom”, United Nations rights chief Volker Turk stated on Friday.

These circumstances “danger undermining the credibility of the electoral course of”, he added.

Opposition chief Diallo has condemned the vote as “an electoral charade” geared toward giving legitimacy to “the deliberate confiscation of energy”.

In September, Guinea accepted a brand new structure in a referendum, which the opposition known as on voters to boycott.

The brand new doc allowed navy leaders to face for election, paving the way in which for Doumbouya’s candidacy.

It additionally lengthened presidential phrases from 5 to seven years, renewable as soon as.

‘Hope issues will probably be sorted’

Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, formally launched final month after years of delay.

Doumbouya has claimed credit score for pushing the mission ahead and guaranteeing Guinea advantages from its output. His authorities this yr additionally revoked EGA subsidiary Guinea Alumina Company’s licence after a refinery dispute, transferring its property to a state-owned agency.

The flip in the direction of useful resource nationalism – echoed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – has boosted his reputation, as has his youth in a rustic the place the median age is about 19.

“For us younger folks, Doumbouya represents the chance to ship the outdated political class into retirement,” Mohamed Kaba, a mechanic in Conakry, informed the Reuters information company.

“There may be quite a lot of corruption proper now, however I hope these items will probably be sorted out.”