Guinea’s Junta Leader Mamadi Doumbouya Declares Presidential Bid

West Africa WeeklyNovember 4, 20251 Mins read524

Four years after seizing power in a September 2021 coup, Mamady Doumbouya has formally submitted his candidacy for the December 28, 2025, presidential election in Guinea, breaking his promise at the start of the transition to hand power back to civilians.

The submission occurred at the Supreme Court in Conakry, where Doumbouya appeared flanked by soldiers and wearing dark sunglasses. He offered no public statement. His entry into the race comes from a new constitution approved by referendum in September that explicitly allows junta members to run for office and extends presidential terms from five to seven years.

Several of Guinea’s major opposition parties, including the RPG Arc en Ciel and the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), have been excluded from the ballot, raising serious concerns about the fairness and credibility of the upcoming election.

In addition to changing who can stand for election, the new constitution also introduced a Senate and other institutional reforms that critics say are designed to entrench the current leadership rather than dismantle military rule.

Doumbouya’s decision marks a stark turnaround from his initial pledge after the coup, in which he stated that neither he nor any member of the military transition would stand in future elections. Analysts say this reversal undermines trust in the proclaimed transition to civilian governance and further signals a consolidation of power by the junta.

Under Doumbouya’s rule, human rights organisations report deepening restrictions on dissent: the suspension of media outlets, internet blackouts, detentions of civil society actors and a shrinking public space for opposition activity.

With the opposition weakened or expelled, and the constitutional framework reshaped to favour the incumbent, the December vote will test whether Guinea can claim a return to democracy, or whether it will simply formalise a transition from one form of autocracy to another.