Guinea's junta leader cements rule with landslide election win

Ougna Camara, Bloomberg News on Dec 30, 2025

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Guinea’s military leader Mamadi Doumbouya won a widely expected victory in Dec. 28 elections from which several opposition figures were barred from running.

Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup, secured 86.7% of the vote, according to preliminary results from the General Directorate of Elections.

Standing under the banner of the Generation for Modernity and Development, he defeated former central bank governor Abdoulaye Yéro Baldé of the Democratic Front of Guinea who won 6.6%, said Djenabou Touré Camara, managing director of the electoral body. Faya Lansana Millimouno, the leader of the Liberal Bloc, got 2%.

Voter turnout was 81%, Camara said on state television late Tuesday.

Several opposition candidates including former prime ministers Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Touré were barred from running.

Ahead of the vote, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said opposition figures in Guinea faced intimidation and enforced disappearances, creating “a climate of fear” that could undermine the election’s credibility.

Doumbouya, 41, a former special forces commander who overthrew President Alpha Condé in the 2021 coup, built his campaign around major infrastructure projects and a national development plan linked to the Simandou iron ore project.

Production began last month at the majority Chinese-owned mega-mining project, located at the world’s largest iron ore deposit, after decades of delays.

Some 6.7 million people registered to cast their ballots in the first election under a constitution removing a ban on military leaders running for office and extending the presidential term to seven years.

The vote was held against the backdrop of a recent spate of coups in Africa, where soldiers have seized power, citing poor governance and the failure of elected officials to ensure public security.

Guinea’s Supreme Court will validate the provisional vote tallies and make a final declaration, Camara said.