General Mamady Doumbouya of Guinea has been declared the provisional winner of the country’s long-anticipated presidential election, thus completing a dramatic transition from coup leader to elected head of state.
Preliminary results from Guinea’s electoral authorities showed Doumbouya winning about 74% of the national vote, an outright victory to avoid a second-round runoff. These results put him way ahead of his challengers and confirm his dominance across key regions such as Kankan and Faranah, where early tallies showed overwhelming margins in his favor.
Trailing in second place was Cellou Dalein Diallo, who garnered around 14 percent, followed by Sidya Touré with about 8 percent, while Lansana Kouyaté placed fourth with roughly 3 percent. Other candidates shared the remaining fraction of the vote.
The results are still subject to confirmation by Guinea’s Supreme Court, but the outcome already signals a decisive consolidation of power by Doumbouya, nearly four years after he seized control of the state through a military takeover.
Doumbouya first gained national and international attention on September 5, 2021, when the special forces group led by the military officers, including himself, stormed the palace of the president, arresting President Alpha Condé, who was the president of the Republic of Guinea at the time. This came after a period of instability precipitated by the third term of the president, which was widely seen as unconstitutional and dictatorial by the people of the Republic of Guinea.
“At the time, Doumbouya—amid mass protests over corruption, economic mismanagement, and democratic decay—said a takeover was necessary because it would allow “power to return to the people.” He dissolved the constitution and declared a suspension of the state. He stated that there would be “a transition period, a
There then followed a very tight, militarized transition phase, in which there were holdups in transferring control to the civilian population, limitations on protest marches, and mounting uncertainty on the part of opposition forces.
In the early part of the current year, a new constitution has been adopted through a national referendum held in Guinea. Even though the adopted document has been hailed as the first step to a democratic rebirth, it has eliminated essential hurdles which previously barred members of the junta from contesting the election.
The new constitution paved the way legislatively for Doumbouya to run for the presidency, which opposition politicians deemed to have been tailored specifically to make way for him to continue ruling the country. Several key figures of the opposition were eliminated either via court challenges, disqualifications, and/or pressure.
His supporters view the outcome as a vote of confidence expressed through the election as a stimulus for stability and continuity. They highlight infrastructure development projects as well as a new dawn of fighting corruption.
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However, the vote has also attracted criticisms from the opposition political parties and other observers over its credibility, with questions over whether this election provided a free and fair choice for Guineans. The fact that there were no key contestants in the race and the significant margin of the win has also attracted debate over whether this election marks a return to power by the civilian government or its reemergence.
While the people of Guinea await the official declaration of the result, thoughts are already turning to what the likely reaction will be from the international and regional groups. But for the citizens of this West African country, the biggest question, of course, remains unanswered: has the coup era come to an end, or has the coup era simply changed form?
