Guinea coup leader Doumbouya elected president in provisional results

Guinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya has been elected president, according to provisional results announced on Tuesday, completing the return to civilian rule in the bauxite- and iron ore-rich West African nation.

The former special forces commander, thought to be in his early 40s, seized power in 2021, toppling then president Alpha Conde, who had been in office since 2010. It was one in a series of nine coups that have reshaped politics in West and Central Africa since 2020.

Provisional results announced on Tuesday showed Doumbouya winning 86.72% of the December 28 vote, an absolute majority that allows him to avoid a runoff.

The Supreme Court has eight days to validate the results in the event of any challenge.

Doumbouya’s victory, which gives him a seven-year mandate, was widely expected. Conde and Cellou Dalein Diallo, Guinea’s longtime opposition leader, are in exile, leaving Doumbouya to face a fragmented field of eight challengers.

Doumbouya reversed pledge not to run

Guinea’s original post-coup charter barred junta members from running in elections, but a new constitution dropping those restrictions was passed in a September referendum.

Djenabou Toure, the country’s top election official who announced the results on Tuesday night, said turnout was 80.95%. However, voter participation appeared tepid in the capital, Conakry, and opposition politicians rejected similarly high turnout figures reported for the September referendum.

Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, officially launched last month after years of delay.

Read moreGuineans vote in first presidential election since 2021 coup

Doumbouya has claimed credit for pushing the project forward and ensuring Guinea benefits from its output.

His government also revoked the licence of Emirates Global Aluminium’s subsidiary, Guinea Alumina Corporation, this year following a refinery dispute, transferring the unit’s assets to a state-owned firm.

The turn towards resource nationalism — echoed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — has boosted his popularity, as has his relative youth in a country where the median age is about 19.

Political space restricted, UN says

Political debate has been muted under Doumbouya. Civil society groups accuse his government of banning protests, curbing press freedom and restricting opposition activity.

The campaign period was “severely restricted, marked by intimidation of opposition actors, apparently politically motivated enforced disappearances, and constraints on media freedom,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said last week.

On Monday, opposition candidate Faya Lansana Millimono told a press conference the election was marred by “systematic fraudulent practices” and that observers were prevented from monitoring the voting and counting processes.

The government did not respond to a request for comment.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)