Guinea presidential elections to be held
Guinea will hold a presidential election today.
Incumbent Alpha Conde, Guinea’s first democratically elected president after 50 years of authoritarian rule, is a seeking a controversial third term. While Conde has already served the permitted two terms in office, Guinea approved a constitutional referendum in March 2020 that imposed two six-year instead of five-year presidential term limits, and Conde’s Rally for Guinean People (RPF) party has argued that the new constitution resets term limits, allowing Conde to serve again.
The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FDNC)—an umbrella group of parties, labour unions and civil societies—denounced the referendum as a “constitutional coup.” Protests against the referendum resulted in the deaths of 50 people. Amid a full boycott by opposition parties, the referendum passed with a 90% majority and a 58% voter turnout.
With the FDNC divided over their election strategy, Conde is likely to win a third term without a run-off election. Conde’s re-election will likely spell a return to authoritarian policies in Guinea for the next six years. The opposition will continue to question the election’s legitimacy but will find little support in the Economic Community of West African States, which only acts on post-election transfers of power.
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