Guinea's PM Promises Presidential Polls Will Hold

Guinea’s Prime Minister, Amadou Oury Bah, reaffirmed on Wednesday the military government’s intention to conduct legislative and presidential elections this year, a day after officials declared that voters had approved a new constitution.

On Sunday, Guineans participated in a referendum to decide whether to adopt a new constitution, which clears the way for the elections but also allows the country’s junta leader to run for president.

According to provisional official results released late Tuesday, a total of 89 per cent of voters in the West African nation supported the constitution.

Bah said to reporters that the “mandate of confidence enables the next steps in the process of restoring constitutional order” through presidential and legislative elections. However, he did not provide a specific date for the election.

Junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya had previously assured in his New Year’s address that 2025 would be a “crucial electoral year to finish the return to constitutional order.”

Guinea's PM Promises Presidential Polls Will Hold — Guinea’s PM Promises Presidential Polls Will Hold. Credit: X

The “yes” votes for the new constitution accounted for 89.4 per cent, as per the official provisional results, with a voter turnout of 86.4 per cent.

Bah said that the turnout “validates the legitimacy of the new constitution,” adding that it further demonstrates “the reconciliation between the state and civil society.”

Final results will be released by the Supreme Court by the end of the week, according to Bah.

Exiled former prime minister and prominent junta critic Cellou Dalein Diallo described the vote on Tuesday as a “masquerade” intended to “whitewash” the 2021 coup that installed the junta in power. Diallo and other opposition members had urged a boycott of the vote.

Since the ousting of civilian president Alpha Conde in 2021, junta leader Doumbouya has governed the country with a heavy hand. Numerous political parties and media outlets have been banned, protests have been prohibited since 2022, and many opposition figures have been jailed, convicted, or forced into exile. Instances of forced disappearances and kidnappings have also surged.

All indicators suggest Doumbouya intends to run for president, despite initially pledging not to do so.

The streets of the capital, Conakry, were peaceful on Wednesday morning following the announcement of the results.

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