Guinea’s Junta Chief Wins Presidential Vote After Backtracking on Pledge

Guinea’s military leader, General Mamady Doumbouya, has been elected president with a sweeping majority, according to provisional results released Tuesday, four years after seizing power in a coup and pledging not to run for office.

The 41-year-old junta chief secured 86.72% of the vote in the weekend election, well above the threshold to avoid a runoff. Official figures placed voter turnout at over 80%.

Doumbouya faced eight rivals, but major opposition leaders were barred from the ballot and had called for a boycott. They denounced the election as an “electoral charade,” with some candidates alleging “serious irregularities” and “ballot stuffing.”

The vote followed a constitutional referendum in September that reset presidential term limits extending them to seven years and allowed junta members to stand for election. This paved the way for Doumbouya’s candidacy, despite his 2021 promise to restore civilian rule by the end of 2024.

Since overthrowing the country’s first democratically elected president, Alpha Condé, Doumbouya has tightened control, banning protests and cracking down on dissent.