Guinea's junta leader wins presidency in first election since 2021 coup

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — The Supreme Court in Guinea on Sunday upheld the election victory of Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya, cementing the junta leader's transition to a democratically elected president four years after staging a coup in the West African nation.

Doumbouya won the country's first election since the 2021 coup after polling 86.7% of the votes, according to the General Directorate of Elections. His victory, which had been predicted by analysts, was confirmed by the Supreme Court in the capital Conakry.

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"Today, there are neither winners nor losers. There is only one Guinea, united and indivisible," Doumbouya said in a broadcast late Sunday, calling on citizens to "build a new Guinea, a Guinea of peace, justice, shared prosperity, and fully assumed political and economic sovereignty."

Yero Baldé, the runner-up who won 6.59% of the vote, had filed a petition accusing the electoral body of manipulating the results in Doumbouya's favor. But authorities said he withdrew the petition a day before the Supreme Court verdict.

The Dec. 28 election was held under a new constitution that revoked a ban on military leaders running for office and extended the presidential mandate from five years to seven years.

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Critics say Doumbouya has clamped down on political opponents and dissent since the 2021 coup, leaving him with no major opposition among the eight other candidates in the race.

The weakened opposition "focused attention on Mamadi Doumbouya as the only key figure capable of ensuring the continuity of the state," said N'Faly Guilavogui, a Guinean political analyst. "Guineans are waiting to see what efforts he will make to ensure political stability and reconciliation," Guilavogui added.

Despite the country's rich mineral resources including the world's biggest exporter of bauxite, which is used to make aluminum, more than half of its 15 million people are experiencing record levels of poverty and food insecurity, according to the World Food Program.

The junta's most important initiative has been a mega-mining project at Simandou, the world's largest iron ore deposit. The 75% Chinese-owned project began production in December after decades of delays.